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MEMO IE 

OF 

EEY. JAMES CHISHOLM, A.M., 

\ 

LATE 

^tttax el St $orfyt's €|rol», 

PORTSMOUTH, VA., 

wrrn 

MEMORANDA OF THE PESTILENCE 

WHICH RAGED IN THAT CITY DURING THE SUMMER 
AND AUTUMN OF 1855. 



DAVID HOLMES CONRAD. gyg 

Jwsswv 

NEW-YORK: 

PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION OF 

EY ANGELICAL KNOWLEDGE. 

11 BIBLE HOUSE, ASTOR PLACE. 

1856. 



'■>_. 



**/£& 



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#v 



Enteeed according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S56, by the 

PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL SOCIETY FOR THE PROMOTION OF EVAN- 
GELICAL KNOWLEDGE, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the - 
Southern District of New-York. 



JOHN A. GRAY'S 

SALAMANDER PRINTING OFFICE, 

1G and IS Jacob st, N. Y. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 
1815—1832. 

PAGE 

Birth — Lineage — Childhood — School-days — Letter of Hon. 
Mr. Upham — Sunday-school — Love of Music — Innocence 
of character — Regard for the feelings of others, . . 1 



CHAPTER II. 

1832—1836, 

College Life at Harvard University — Letters from Rev. J. 
Very and Dr. H. Bigelow — Graduation — Attainments — 
Esteem of the Professors — Account of Gen. Jackson's re- 
ceiving the degree of LL.D — Leaves College, . . .12 

CHAPTER III. 

1S36— 1840. 

Goes to Jefferson County, Ya., as Assistant Teacher — Letter 
of Rev. Dr. Jones — First Serious Impressions of Religion 
— Becomes a Member of the Church in Washington City 
— Confirmation — Determines to study for the Ministry — 
Enters the Virginia Theological Seminary — His Views — 
Ordained, 22 



IV CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IY. 

PAGE 

Partial Engagement in Albemarle County, Ya. — Letter 
from Mrs. W. C. Rives — Letter — Letter from Mrs. Page- 
Labors among the Colored People — Description of the 
Country and People, . . . . . . .31 

CHAPTER Y. 

Settlement in Norborne Parish, Berkeley County — Yisiting 
the Sick — Manner of his Ministrations — Letters from Mar- 
tinsburg and Hedgesville — "A Scene in our Parish," . 40 

CHAPTER VI, 

His Marriage — Letter — Tertullian — Resides in Martinsburg 
—His First-born— Escape of the Child from Death, . 52 

CHAPTER VII. 

His Course as a Pastor — Sunday-Schools-^Biblc-Classes — 
Attachments of the Colored People — Letters, . .69 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Removal from Berkeley — Letters on the Subject — Numbers 
added to Communion — This not the only Test of Fidelity 
and Usefulness — Resignation — Removes to Portsmouth 
— Identification with the People — Letter to the Author — 
Journey together in Company to Convention in Wheel- 
ing, in 1853 — Incidents — Letter, 68 



CONTENTS. V 

CHAPTER IX. 

PAGE 

From May, 1853, to May, 1854— Lynchburg Convention — 
Death of his Wife — Lines on the Same— Letter to his 
Brother-in-Law, 16 

CHAPTER X. 

Pestilence in Portsmouth and Norfolk — Journal of Events 
for the First Month, 88 

CHAPTER XI. 

The Pestilence — Letters to Various Persons during the sub- 
sequent Days of his Life — To his Son "William, the Au- 
thor, and Others, 108 

CHAPTER XII. 

The Pestilence — Letter to Mrs. Holliday — His Brothers, Sis- 
ters, and Others, 122 

CHAPTER XII. 

The Pestilence— Death of his Second Son — Interesting Inci- 
dent of Same— Effect upon Mr. C.'s Spirits— 111 Effects of 
Agitation in Times of Sickness — Lines on the Death of his 
Son— His Last Writing— Death— Letter of E. A. Hatton, 138 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Account of Mr. Chisholm by his Sister-in-law— Further In- 



VI CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

cidents of Character — His Purpose to remain in Ports- 
mouth under any Circumstances considered — False reports 
of Protestant Ministers — Thoughts on their Course as 
compared with that of Roman Catholics — Reasons why . 
Ministers from Other Places do not volunteer their Ser- 
vices — Conclusion, 153 

Discourse on the Death of Rev. James Chisholm, . .117 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 



The author was compelled to prepare this work in a short 
space of time, amidst many professional and other engagements ; 
nor had he at the time access to Mr. Chisholm's papers, which 
were in Portsmouth. Those papers have since been received, 
(that is, such of them as were spared by robbers, who, after the 
pestilence abated, and before the inhabitants returned, rushed 
in and plundered and stripped his house, along with many others,) 
and have been carefully examined. They contain much matter 
by which this volume might be extended, to the gratification, no 
doubt, of many readers ; but on the whole, the author would not 
think it expedient to increase its size, to the hazard of its greater 
circulation. 

Martixsburg-, Berkeley Co., Ya., March, 1856. 



MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 



CHAPTEE I. 

1815—1832. 

Birth — Lineage — Childhood — School-days — Letter of Hon. Mr. 
Upham — Sunday-school — Love of Music — Innocence of cha- 
racter — Regard for the feelings of others. 

The following entry is yet to be seen in the 
family Bible of William and Maetha Chis- 
holm — preserved by their family ; most of whom 
are yet resident in the town of Salem, Massachu- 



" JAMES, BORN SEPTEMBER 30TH, 1815." 

About forty years after, the newspapers of the 
town of Salem contained this announcement : 

" Portsmouth, Ya., Sept 16th, 1855. 
" The Rev. James Chtsholm, Rector of St. John's Episcopal 
Church, died last night, at the Naval Hospital." 
1 



2 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

Before this event was made known, thousands 
of anxious hearts, in Virginia and in New Eng- 
land, were awaiting the result of the pestilential 
fever, which, after sparing this faithful servant of 
Christ and man of humanity, almost to the end of 
the fearful yellow-fever visitation of 1855, struck 
him down on Friday, the 7th of September. If 
we were to judge from the deep and widely-spread 
interest felt for this good man, we might say with 
the wise King of Israel : " A good name is better 
than precious ointment; and the day of death, 
than the day of one's birth." 

It has been suggested that a sketch of his life, 
but more particularly a narrative of the close of 
it, might serve the Cause, to which that life was 
devoted; and in the service of which that life 
was yielded up, in the martyr-spirit, freely and 
knowingly. 

If " History be Philosophy teaching by exam- 
ple," it is especially true of Biography. The phi- 
losophy of human life may be more worthy of 
note than the philosophy of politics or war. Still 
more true is it, that the pure example of a holy, 
consistent Christian life, with its calm, triumphant 
Christian ending, may teach us better and higher 
things than the rise and fall of empires. 



LINEAGE — ANCESTORS. 3 

It is the intention of the person, to whom the 
honorable task has been assigned of writing a 
brief sketch of the life of the Eev. James Chis- 
holm, to make this little work a true picture of 
the faithful shepherd under circumstances of the 
greatest possible dangers and trials. 

It is always interesting to know the lineage of 
the person whose biography is presented to us. 
In the case of Mr. Chisholm, we may perhaps 
trace certain distinctive features of character, from 
his somewhat peculiar ancestry. 

His father, William Chisholm, was a Scotch 
gentleman, of a family allied or belonging to the 
clan of that name — the chieftain of which has al- 
ways been known by the definite title of "The 
Chisholm" The romantic loyalty of the former 
head of this ancient house, is well succeeded by 
the piety and patriotism of the present chief. 

"William Chisholm, son of Alexander and Isa- 
bella (Frazer) Chisholm, was born at Inverness, 
Scotland, on the 24th of September, 1772 ; and 
thus by the paternal grandmother, he was derived 
also from the ancient clan " Frazer." Martha 
Vincent, the wife of William, and mother of our 
James Chisholm, was the grand-daughter of 
Matthew Vincent, an Italian gentleman from Tus- 
cany. 



4 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

The loyalty of this family to the house of 
Stuart, down to the rebellion of 1745, is matter 
of history. At that time the great-grandfather of 
our gentle Christian pastor, also called William 
Chisholm — who was a man of great athletic pow- 
ers, and of tried fidelity to his prince, Charles Ed- 
ward — was intrusted with the business of carry- 
ing some of his most confidential dispatches, 
which, besides the peril, demanded the utmost 
celerity and the greatest physical endurance. 
These trusts were performed so as to call forth 
the wonder of even the hardy highlanders who 
were the principal followers of that hapless aspi- 
rant to the British throne. 

This faithful old adherent of the " Prince" was 
the last person seen by his grand-son when he 
left his native land for the sea service, under his 
cousin, Captain William Frazer, of the ship 
Friendship. He was thus brought by the vicissi- 
tudes of a commercial life, to Boston, where he first 
settled, and afterwards to Salem. 

The father of Mr. Chisholm, who had re- 
ceived his early education in Scotland, died 
when this son, at the age of twelve, had been but 
six months in the High-School at Salem* Such 
an event is always a serious one to a younger son. 



CHILDHOOD. 5 

The situation of the family made, in this instance, 
no exception to the rule. It was determined, 
however, by two elder brothers and a sister, that 
the plan of life laid out by the father, should be 
carried out by a thorough collegiate education at 
their own expense. In treating of his college life 
we shall see how faithfully both parties fulfilled 
this family compact — the fraternal guardians by 
furnishing the means, and the young scholar by 
assiduity in his studies, and by a full repayment 
of the expenses of his education out of his first 
earnings as a teacher. 

But let us not anticipate. "We should not un- 
derrate the very earliest impressions made upon 
the individual, in deciding upon his character 
from the exhibitions of his mature life. The im- 
portance of this earliest period of life is every 
day more and more appreciated. The child is 
father to the man. The fireside influences, the 
home teachings, the maternal heart-lessons, the 
treatment by brothers and sisters — must always 
lay the ground color to the tapestry ; and while 
college-life, new associations, professional studies, 
and duties, may to some extent overlay this — per- 
haps adorn it with bright-hued flowers, or deepen 
the tint with heavier shadows, still the predomi- 
1* 



6 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

nant hue prevails and is never entirely lost ; and 
in times that try and test the soul, while these will 
pass off that will shine forth — the primitive mater- 
nal stamp and impression. This was eminently 
true of the subject of our history, James Chis- 
holm — the very singleness and inartificiality of 
his character, made it eminently true of him. 
Perhaps there never was a man who carried 
through life more of all that was engaging, inge- 
nuous, and innocent, in childhood, than he did. 
To the day of his death his tastes were as simple 
and child-like, as when he was a school-boy in his 
native town. He enjoyed all the innocent pleas- 
ures of life with the zest of early youth. His face 
had a beaming and happy expression. He was 
marked by an unstudied, modest, and almost 
awkward style of carriage ; somewhat shrinking 
and bashful in his attitudes, and rapid in his 
walk ; and a slight lisp in his speech conveyed 
the idea of a gentle trustfulness in his intercourse. 
From his early childhood he esteemed it a re- 
creation to pursue any course of voluntary study. 
He loved to read aloud any thing that inter- 
ested him. He could be seen, whenever he was 
permitted, reading aloud to his mother while she 
was engaged in her domestic duties, such works 



HIS LOVE OF READING. 7 

as Mungo Park, and Denham and Clapperton's 
Travels, and many similar works ; and as the ma- 
ternal auditor moved from place to place, in the 
exercise of her needful household duties, little 
James would shift his position from spot to spot, so 
as to reach her ear — sometimes sitting . at the bot- 
tom of a flight of steps, sometimes standing by her 
side, book in hand, reading aloud to his mother. 
All the time that he was at school he was a morning 
student. From his earliest childhood, through 
life, he was an early riser : he might be seen by 
the lark, before sun-rising, at the window of a lit- 
tle room which he had chosen for his study, por- 
ing over his books. There being no fire in it was 
no sufficient cause to drive him from his perch, 
until the cold of a northern winter brought him 
down to the family rooms. Though small of 
stature, he was blessed with excellent health and 
its concomitant, (when preserved by temperance,) 
buoyant spirits ; there was something of the great- 
grandfather William's power of endurance of 
physical toil, and love of bodily exercise, in him. 
He was a great walker — never neglected his daily 
walk, and frequently, when a student at Cam- 
bridge, he would walk over to Salem, seventeen 
miles, without fatigue or exhaustion ; and long after 



8 MEMOIE OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

these days, when lie resided at Hedgesville, his 
country parish, in Virginia, his mountain parish- 
ioners would wonder, when they would meet their 
pastor in his lonely walks upon the mountain- 
side, what Mr. Chisholm could possibly be seeking 
after among the hills and hollows of their roman- 
tic mountain country. 

In March, 1830, he entered the Latin School of 
Salem. Here he was prepared for college, and 
from which, in due time, he was sent to the Uni- 
versity of Harvard. It remained to his brothers 
and a sister to carry out his father's intention of 
giving him a complete university education. The 
object of this fraternal kindness has fully paid 
back this aid : first, literally, by working for, earn- 
ing, and returning the outlay insolido; but more, 
a thousand-fold more satisfactorily, in the fruits of 
those labors which his attainments made effectual. 
The redeemed souls of many, black and white, 
seals to his sacred ministry ; the luminous exam- 
ple shining now in the eyes of all men, through 
his noble, devoted, martyr-like services in the pes- 
tilence-stricken community. May this example 
live for the encouragement of others to aid a strug- 
gling youth. Even twenty-five years after, a 
friend of the family, distinguished in the political 



SCHOOL-DAYS. 9 

world, and a trusty and watchful friend of their 
brother, thus writes to the brother : 

" I know well the generous efforts and sacrifices made by 
you, and other members of his family, to secure his education ; 
and the persevering firmness and resolute strength of purpose 
with which he surmounted obstacles, and pursued his object to 
the end." 

Truly, it is more blessed to give than to receive. 
If we only could remember what a glorious usury 
of blessing is the certain reward of disinterested, 
self-denying kindness to others, we should be more 
willing than we are to lay up our treasure where 
no one can break through and steal the principal, 
and where the interest, in a liberal per cent, is often 
paid out to us here, by the all-bountiful Keeper of 
the fund. 

This same constant and judicious friend of the 
family had his attention first drawn to them by 
observing James Chisholm at the examination of 
the scholars of the Grammar School, when Judge 
Story, since so widely known as a great jurist, 
delivered the prize of a book to this gentle little 
boy. This gentleman, known in the highest coun- 
cils of the Republic, and as one of her historians> 
in referring with warm feeling to his young pro- 
tege, says : 



10 MEM01E OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

" About a quarter of a century ago, my attention was particu- 
larly attracted to a gentle and amiable lad in our Latin School. 
His frame was slight ; but it was evident, even then, in his child- 
hood, the abode of an intellect more than ordinarily spiritual and 

elevated There was something, even then, quite noticeable, 

indeed, I might say, very peculiarly attractive, in his aspect and 
deportment. His expression was benignant, gentle, and intelli- 
gent. A lovely spirit slwne through his 'pure and transparent 
countenance. Decision and meekness were, at once, each traced 
with extraordinary distinctness in his manners and bearing. 
From that time I have cherished a special interest in him, encou- 
raging him in the pursuit of an education, and rejoicing in his 
usefulness as a Christian minister. He was graduated with hon- 
orable distinction at Cambridge, in 1836. The records of tho 
University attest the success of his efforts, and the honorable 
parts assigned him in the public performances of his class, show 
that he stood among its first scholars." 

I need not say that lie was a regular attendant 
upon cliurcli and upon the Sunday-school. His 
taste for sacred music and high proficiency in the 
art, was first imparted by the Sunday-school sing- 
ing, which he loved to join in. One of the most 
remarkable characteristics of this excellent man 
was his purity of mind. Eidicule could not touch 
him. He received what was intended as a sneer, 
oftentimes, in such a simple, thankful spirit, as an 
intended favor or compliment, that the blush was 
flung upon the assailant's cheek. He would not 
know the meaning of " filthiness and foolish talk- 



CHAR ACTEEISTICS. 1 1 

ing," but appeared to have attained to the grace 
of being " wise unto that which is good, and sim- 
ple concerning evil." He never touched intoxi- 
cating drink, or tobacco in any shape, and yet he 
made no parade of his abstinence. 



12 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 



CHAPTEE II. 

1832—1836. 

College Life at Harvard University — Letters from Rev. J. Yery 
and Dr. H. Bigelo:7 — Graduation — Attainments — Esteem of 
the Professors — Account of Gen. Jackson's receiving the de- 
gree of LL.D — Leaves College. 

In the order of time, we should next refer to 
the college life of our subject. In so doing we 
shall enter into no detail of his four years' studies, 
nor any disquisition upon college life, keeping to 
the duty of exhibiting the character of Mr. Chis- 
holm in his college life, from which it will not be 
inferred that a bad life in college is no bar to 
honor and usefulness in after-life. I give extracts 
from numerous testimonials to his worth, and the 
estimate in which he was held by the good. The 
Eev. Jones Yery, an old class-mate, writes : 

"He was a member with Mr. Thomas Bernard West, of Salem, 
now deceased, and myself of a small Society for religious im- 
provement, which held meetings once a week, during most of my 
college course. I remember these meetings with great satisfac- 



COLLEGE-LIFE. 13 

tion, as hours well and happily spent ; and I doubt not that they 
were so remembered by all who participated in them. During 
the senior year, Mr. Chisholm, Mr. West, and myself occupied 
the whole upper story of the third entry, in Holworthy. James 
was fond of singing, and often on Sabbath evenings he would 
enter my room and say: ' Come, let us sing some hymns;' and 
we spent many Sabbath evenings in singing together." 

Dr. Henry Bigelow, of West-Newton, Mass., 
writes : 

" I know his constant faithfulness to duty, how religiously he 
sought to conform to every rule of discipline and order, how 
earnest to perform to the utmost of his ability every task set be- 
fore him. Of an almost feminine delicacy of manners, and much 
social reserve, he mixed but little in the social recreations of col- 
lege life ; of course had no sympathy with those light or grave 
trespasses in college discipline which are so frequent and so 
popular at that thoughtless period of unfledged manhood. Of 
course he had to meet the light laugh at his weakness, or see 
the scornful finger of the more heartless offender pointed at hi3 
retreating figure, or hear a jest at his too tender conscience. All 
such expressions never drew from him a word of complaint, far 
less of retort. He seemed calm and happy in his chosen way. So 
he never lost caste with his class-mates, never forfeited that 
respect which must ever be accorded to even the most scrupulous 
adherence to principle. He had more than respect, he had their 
high esteem ; for it was not unknown to them that there was the 
heart of a widowed mother to be pained and rent by any wan- 
dering from the path of virtue ; that there were the eyes of kind 
and generous friends to observe the first evidence that their kind- 
ness had been misplaced, or their generosity ill-requited. If such 
2 



14 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

considerations bad their influence upon the tenor of his life, as 
doubtless they did, if they helped to strengthen him in his weak- 
ness against the temptations of youth, and associates, does it not 
declare what a blessing even our afflictions and privations may 
be to us, under God — ' what an exceeding weight of glory, they 
may work out for us ' ? 

" Our college life was not wholly an uncheckered one. Rebel- 
lion against authority — organized resistance to law was the order 
of the day. The black flag was unfurled, and every member of 
the class was ordered to rally around Rebellion-tree. I remember 
well the queries in many minds whether Chisk^lm could be 
made to appear. All familiar with college KCq know how great 
the difliculty of resisting the clamor of a class, how necessary it 
is to yield to it or sacrifice for over after all fellowship with class- 
mates. After waiting lo*g, after every other straggler had come 
in, as a last resort a strong committee were sent to bring in the 
last one. He came to the spot, but very soon escaped to his 
room. The most conspicuous act of disorder at that time was 
the marching of the whole class in double file, to the chapel at 
prayer-time, entering the opposite door, and crossing the entire 
chapel to their seats. Fortunately, our friend escaped this trial, 
as he was then a monitor of another class, and obliged to be at 
his post. So that when the whole class was shortly after dis- 
missed from college for three months, he, with one other under 
like circumstances, was excepted." 

In August, 1836, lie graduated with honor, in a 
class of many bright and able young men. The 
finished scholarship attained here, shone out after- 
wards in his compositions, conversation, and ser- 
mons, in spite of a retiring modesty which unaf- 



ADVANCEMENT IN LANGUAGES. 15 

fectedly kept these accomplishments in the back- 
ground. How many of Mr. Chisholm's friends 
and acquaintance, are even yet unaware of the 
extent and accuracy of his attainments? His 
memory was (without any system of mnemonics) 
almost infallible, even as to dates, names, and mi- 
nute events. Thus his accurate recollection made 
his days a series of anniversaries to him, and his 
scholastic attainments seemed as fresh in 1855, as 
they were in 1835. Besides, he kept up his 
knowledge of the languages, for the attainment of 
which he had a. wonderful gift, by a diary or com- 
mon-place book, in which entries were made, 
sometimes daily, in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, 
Spanish, German, and Italian. He not only read 
and wrote these languages, but spoke some of 
them with facility. He who pens these lines 
has heard him converse in German, French, and 
Italian, during the hours of one evening's enter- 
tainment. His taste in the choice of language 
was so precise and fastidious, that it often gave 
to his conversation and extemporary addresses 
the appearance of hesitancy ; for his scrupulous- 
ness in the choice of words to express his mean- 
ing would sometimes make him, after using one 
word or phrase, present another apparently synony- 



16 MEMOIR 0# REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

mous, but on scrutiny, varying from the first, and 
always conveying a more accurate shade of mean- 
ing. 

In college, as in every situation of life, a dis- 
tinction was accorded to him higher than academic 
honors — the cordial love and affection which he 
won for himself from all who came in contact 
with him ; the private esteem of the professors and 
officers of the college, as well as that of his fel- 
lows. President Quincy presented him with a 
"Detur," in a copy of the British poets; and 
whenever during his college course, this distin- 
guished president and historian of the University 
was asked of the standing of Chisholm: "He 
is a good fellow — (your brother, your son) — stands 
high." And so the steward of the College, Mr. 
Sparhawk, speaking of him would say: "He is a 
fine young man, always orderly" And so when 
in August, 1852, the Eev. Mr. Chisholm, with 
his wife and two children, revisited Harvard, (just 
twenty years after he, as a wondering freshman 
first looked upon its stately buildings and pen- 
dent elms,) the same old librarian, J. L. Sibley, 
Esq., was at his post, presiding over the finest li- 
brary in the United States. He was of course re- 
cognized by the visitor ; for the faces of the old 



ANECDOTE OF THE OLD LIBKAKIAN. 17 

habitues of the College, as well as the campus, the 
landscape, and the localities, are not things ever 
to be forgotten by the collegian — while tlie pass- 
ing crowd of many youthful faces may well con- 
fuse the powers of memory and recognition in the 
stationary officer of a large university. "Do 
you remember me ? " said tlie returned graduate 
to the librarian, after his twenty years' absence. 
Mr. Sibley replied: "I forget your name, but I 
remember you: when you were here you were a 
good boy." How unaffectedly complimentary in 
its natural and simple truthfulness ! A man of 
good taste would prize it above bis parchment 
diploma, with its swelling Latin compliments, 
and pendent seals to attest them. 

We can not forbear transcribing a letter which 
he addressed at this time to his elder brother, 
Joseph Chisholm, Esq., of Salem — of whom it 
may be said, more emphatically than of any 
other, that he stood towards James in bco parentis. 
He watched over his early life, followed him with 
paternal solicitude to his distant Southern home — 
and feels now, in gathering up the memorials and 
mementos of his beloved younger brother, as a 
father does when lie collects the personal effects 
and relics of a departed son. This letter is inter- 
2* 



18 MEMOIR -OF BEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

esting as containing a picture of the ceremonies 
of the installation of President Andrew Jackson 
as LL.D., by the officials of Harvard. Lest 
Major Jack Downing's burlesque portraiture of 
this event should, by possibility, (so strange are 
sometimes the sources of history,) go down the 
current of time as a true narrative of this memo- 
rable investiture of collegiate honors, I give a 
cotemporary sketch by an ingenuous youth of 
eighteen : 

" Cambridge, Wednesday p.m., June 26, 1833. 
"Dear Brother: 

" I have nothing particular to write about, as it is so short a 
time since I saw you, except the President's visit to Cambridge, 
which took place this forenoon, and the particulars of which will, 
I suppose, have reached you before this letter. However, as I 
have nothing else to write, I will describe it, rather I guess for 
my own gratification than for yours. In the forenoon the sky 
was overcast, but the temperature of the weather was just right. 
At quarter before 10 a.m., the students assembled in the chapel 
and took their respective seats. At 10 o'clock the President of 
the United States, and President Quincy, entered the chapel, 
walking arm in arm, and followed by the President's suite, the 
College faculty, and other great men. The two Presidents took 
their seats on the staging in front of the pulpit, and before them 
the above-mentioned officers. Firstty. President Quincy arose 
and delivered a complimentary address of about ten minutes' 
length, in which he set forth Jackson's civil and military virtues 
in glowing colors, and gave a short history of the rise, progress, 



. 



JACKSON'S INSTALLATION AS LL.D. 19 

and success of Harvard University. The Chief-Magistrate then 
arose and made a brief reply, which, through his extreme feeble- 
ness, was scarcely audible, much less intelligible. One of the 
members of the senior class then delivered a complimentary ora- 
tion in Latin of about ten minutes' duration ; after which Presi- 
dent Quincy made a short Latin address, and wound it up by 
conferring upon President Jackson the honorary degree of LL.D. 
The chapel services were then concluded by an anthem, to the 
tune of ' Old Hundred.' The members of the University (grad- 
uates and under-graduates) then formed themselves into a pro- 
cession, and escorted the Chief-Magistrate, first to the Library 
Hall, and thence to President Quincy's house, where* refresh- 
ments were provided and the chief officers of the nation were in- 
troduced to those of the college. It was rather a strange sight 
to see persons of so much political cunning, antiquated learning, 
and military freedom, all mixed up together. On one side you 
could see Jackson and Quincy in earnest conversation ; on an- 
other, Rev. Dr. "Ware, or Dr. Popkin, with Yan Buren and Hull, 
etc. The Chief-Magistrate and his suite then proceeded in close 
carriages to Bunker Hill, at half-past eleven o'clock. This was 
the end of his reception at Cambridge. The President's health 
is visibly on the decline, and many are of opinion that if ho pro- 
ceeds much farther at present, he will not live to see Washington 
again. Indeed, you would be surprised to see the alteration 
which four days have made in him. On Friday last, when he 
came to Boston, his countenance was of a lively red, which, al- 
though his natural color, was unusual for persons of his age, 
considering the fatigues he has undergone : to-day he was deadly 
pale, could hardly speak, and seems to have acquired a dozen 
wrinkles within the time." 

When Mr. Cliisliolm left college lie was 



20 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

within a month, of his majority. He had no 
worldly goods, no estate in expectancy, no rich 
relatives, no physical strength or skill — not even 
a handicraft, to make Iris bread wherewith. He 
had a debt of honor to discharge to those kind- 
hearted relatives who had with self-denial met his 
college bills. This young man now about to 
enter life, had perhaps less to begin upon than a 
very large proportion of those who, at the age of 
twenty-one, enter the race of life, in our active, 
stirring land. Yet he felt that he owed a debt to 
society and his country, as well as to mother, 
brothers, and sisters. His principles of action and 
feelings in the outset of life, are here embodied in 
the very words of one, who stands towards him as 
a surviving sister, whose life-long attachment to this 
brother was almost passing the love of woman. 
She thus writes to the author : 

" Have you ever given a moment's thought to the fact that 
many young men leave college after finishing their education, 
without a thought that a great treasure is intrusted to them ? 
Labor in a vocation, is a debt that every educated man owes to 
his country ; and labor without the possession of scrip or purse, 
without desire of precedence, is what the ' man of God' is called 
on to perform, from Noah to Elijah, from Elijah to the Apostles, 
from the Apostles to the youngest of those who in these days 
would follow the same Master with them. Such a train of re- 



HIS VIEWS AT THIS TIME. 21 

flections arise when we consider that, nineteen years ago last 
August, James had finished his collegiate course. His education 
was his fortune, which he was about to dedicate to his God and 
his country. He was hardly twenty-one. His intention was to 
enter one of the professions. He scarcely dared to think him- 
self fit for a minister ; yet every one said he will be a minister. 

"But befora he could enter on a profession, he must earn 
money to carry him through with the requisite preparations. He 
gave out word that he wished employment as a school-teacher. 
About the last days of August in 1836, a man one morning pro- 
posed to him to go out to Virginia with him, to assist in a school. 
James was not satisfied with the compensation offered, but gave 
the person such encouragement that he would go, as to lead him 
afterwards to plead that it would be a disappointment and loss to 
him if James did not accompany him. In the same afternoon of 
the same day, a proposition came to James, through the kind- 
ness of his cousin, George Wood, of the Land-Office, from Wash- 
ington, D. C, offering him a school the net income of which 
was three times the amount of compensation that B. had offered 
in the morning. James immediately sought B., but saw only 
the father, the son being away, and the father entered the plea 
stated above. In this state of the case James' sense of honor 
would not allow him to break with the man, and he made im- 
mediate arrangements to leave for Virginia. Thus you see, he 
made what was apparently a pecuniary sacrifice, at the very out- 
set in life ; and this passage of his life seems to be but an epi- 
tome of his history. He seemed to be destined rather for riches 
in good works towards God, than to possess earthly riches." 



22 MEMOIR. OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 



CHAPTBE in. 

1836—1840. 

Goes to Jefferson County, Va., as Assistant Teacher — Letter of 
Rev. Dr. Jones — First Serious Impressions of Religion — Be- 
comes a Member of the Church in "Washington City — Con- 
firmation — Determines to study for the Ministry — Enters the 
Virginia Theological Seminary — His Views — Ordained. 

There was now a transition to be made from the 
early home to the localities of his future life, in 
Virginia, his whole future life on earth. ; for, from 
this time he never lived off the soil of the Old Do- 
minion. The first half of his life, including infan- 
cy, childhood, boyhood, and youth, up to near 
twenty-one, belonged to the rock-bound maritime 
region of New-England. The last half belonged 
to Virginia, and, without forgetting his native 
land, his affections, his social ties, his conjugal re- 
lations, his religious connections, all his hopes and 
possessions and prospects were bounded on the 
north by the Potomac. He came to act as assistant 
in the Academy at Charlestown, Jefferson county, 






LETTEB OF KEY. BR. JONES. 23 

"Virginia. Such, were his winning and amiable 
traits of character that he soon became, here, be- 
loved by many and indeed by all who knew him ; 
and he left there, as everywhere else, the sweet 
savor of a good name ; and at this time his mem- 
ory is hallowed and his loss deplored to an extent 
that would surprise himself were he allowed to re- 
turn and witness it. The Eev. Alexander Jones, 
D.D., then, and for many years before, the rector 
of the large Episcopal congregation in Charles- 
town, in a brief letter written since his death, 
says: 

" While in my parish he was esteemed an amiable and very 
agreeable yonng man, and an accomplished classical scholar, and 
his character and conduct were altogether unblemished and exem- 
plary. Shortly after he left my parish I heard of his intending to 
enter the ministry of our Church. My acquaintance with him 
since he entered the ministry, has been cordial and intimate, and 
I have always highly esteemed him as devoted to his work, a fine 
writer, and an accurate scholar. His memory will now be cher- 
ished, not only as a scholar and a laborious servant and minister 
of Christ ; but as a martyr to duty in the midst of danger and 
death." 

Mr. Chisholm was raised in a community and 
educated in a college where the doctrines and re- 
ligious tenets of a very large portion of the educat- 
ed, refined, and wealthy of the population present 



24 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

to the minds of Southern Christians a singular 
contrast to what they have been led to believe 
were the views of their pilgrim ancestry. Mr. 
Chisholm was not educated in Unitarian views. 
He attended with his family, an Orthodox church, 
(the writer is informed of the Baptist persuasion,) 
and he has often spoken with deep regret and 
painful interest of the state of religion at Harvard, 
always asserting, however, that there was the ab- 
sence of every thing that looked like a proselyt- 
ing or propagandist spirit, in the leading men, 
professors and clergymen, connected with the Uni- 
versity. It was here, in Charlestown, Ya., and in 
the Episcopal Church, that the first serious im- 
pressions on the subject of religion, were made 
upon him. I do not mean by this to be understood 
as saying that he was not under religious influences. 
He was the son of a pious mother. He was 
raised in an atmosphere of Christian morality. 
We believe that the preventive grace of God 
guided his footsteps from his earliest childhood. 
He was almost like Samuel, " dedicated to the 
Lord," and no one ever heard from his lips the pro- 
fane oath, or the scoffer's sneer; nor were the 
efforts of the gay and thoughtless, but sometimes 
dissipated and reckless young men about him, ever 



FIEST SERIOUS IMPRESSIONS. 25 

prevailing enough to make him deviate from the 
path, of a vice-shunning morality; but, we believe 
also that this sort of morality (which was all he 
pretended to in 1836) as a provision for the jour- 
ney heavenward to be not a whit better than the 
looser morals of w<my who make no pretensions to 
it. The morality of the worldly prudent is worth 
just as much as the righteousness of the Scribes 
and Pharisees, and that is nothing worth in the 
sight of a holy God, who requires of us, and who 
alone can bestow upon us the righteousness which 
is of God through Christ. Young James Chis- 
holm, the assistant teacher of the classical Acade- 
my in Charlestown, was first awakened to a sense 
of this while attending the Episcopal Church there, 
when the communion was administered. He men- 
tioned to a friend that in New-England it is the 
practice of those who do not commune to leave the 
church, and that before this occasion he had never 
witnessed this solemn rite. The beautiful simpli- 
city of the ancient ritual spoke to his taste ; the 
subdued and chastened emotions of the communi- 
cants, to his better feelings ; the deep import of the 
whole, to his heart. It was the first direct appeal 
of the Spirit, and was not unheeded. 

But he did not unite himself to the Church until 
3 



26 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

he left Charlestown for Washington City. The 
period of his residence in Charlestown was from 
the autumn of 183G to that of 1837, during which 
time he aided as assistant in the Academy there, 
as already referred to. At the expiration of his 
engagement he went to Washington, where, for a 
year and a half he taught a select classical school, 
and while there he united himself, after due and 
deliberate consideration, to the Protestant Episco- 
pal Church. This step was not taken unadvisedly, 
perhaps not without that degree of opposition, or 
question, rather, from those who were very dear to 
him, but whose education and associations render- 
ed the selection of an Episcopal Church, at least 
a matter of surprise to them. Those who will 
read Bishop Griswold's Memoirs may understand 
the objections to the Episcopal Church which pre- 
vailed in Massachusetts thirty years ago. We are 
thankful to the Great Head of the Church that 
through the labors of that great and good man, as 
also of his successor, that prejudice has so nearly 
passed away. The time had come when the pre- 
dictions of his friends, "he will be a minister," 
were to be verified. 

He was at no loss where to go for the needful 
preparatory studies for the sacred office. That 



CONFIRMATION. 27 

" school of the prophets' 7 across the wide river, he 
could almost see among the wooded hills of 
Fairfax. 

He was confirmed in Washington, February 
24th, 1839, as appears from a letter to a brother, 
in Boston : 

" On Sunday, 24th, I was confirmed. I do not know whether 
you have ever witnessed a confirmation : it is a most solemn rite. 
I wish you and L. A. had been standing with me at that chancel. 
The scene made an impression on my mind that will never be 
forgotten. There were in all ten of us. Next me stood a gen- 
tleman of fortune, who had for a long life sustained the character 
of an exemplary citizen, a pattern in all relations of society, in 
every relation but to his G-od — and now on the threshold of old 
age, had been brought to the knowledge of a Saviour's love. I 
never saw one more overcome than he was, on this solemn occa- 
sion, and could not help coming to the conclusion that it is a 
more affecting, as it is a more rare sight, to witness the aged 
than the young converted; inasmuch as the former suffers the 
conviction that he has come to the work with jaded faculties, 
that the hey-day of life is past, that he consecrates to the service 
of his Redeemer, what in all probability will prove to be the fee- 
ble remains of a long and prosperous life. One of our number 
was a poor aged" African woman." 

In a letter dated "Washington, April 8th, 1839, 
after referring to an inclosure of $100 to repay 
a brother for money loaned — and with that scru- 
pulous honesty in repaying all debts — shows his 



28 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

sense of his brother's kindness by thanking him 
for his forbearance in asking for it — he goes on to 
say: "I have given up my school, and shall de- 
part to-morrow for the Theological Seminary in 
Virginia, seven miles below this city. I have al- 
ready joined the Seminary, and am a member of 
the middle class." 

In June after, he writes to the same brother : 
" I daily experience the conviction, more and more 
strongly, which you expressed in one of your let- 
ters, some time since, that the office of the sacred 
ministry is by far the highest office to which mor- 
tal man can be called. Highest, not in the com- 
mon sense of the term, not as the people of the 
world accept the term — but highest in point of 
solemn responsibility, and importance with regard 
to the eternal world. Who is sufficient for these 
things? Yet the way to become a faithful ser- 
vant is clearly and amply marked out for us : 
Strong in the strength which God supplies through 
his eternal Son." 

In a letter dated from the Seminary, July 10, 
1840, he mentions that he has now finished his 
studies for the University, but intends to devote 
three or four months longer as a resident student, 
" endeavoring to prepare myself more fully for 



ORDINATION AS DEACON. 29 

the awful responsibilities of that office to -which I 
look forward to be soon admitted." 

On the 10th of October, 1840, he writes: "I 
was made a, Deacon on Sunday, the 4th inst. I 
have indeed assumed those awful vows to preach 
Christ Jesus the Lord, and to be, myself, from 
this time forward as long as life shall last, the ser- 
vant of men for His sake. Unworthy as I am, I 
have been called and admitted by the Church on 
earth, and its authorized pastors, and I trust, oh ! 
most sincerely do I trust, that I have been ac- 
cepted by the Lord of Heaven and Earth to the 
ministry of the same. Eemember me, dear 
brother, in your daily intercessions at the throne 
of grace, for the profession (into the lowest 
and humblest duties of which I am now entered) 
has been emphatically and most justly called 
the l fearful office.' 'You are now on an emi- 
nence,' said a faithful servant of the Lord in ad- 
dressing the candidates on the day of ordina- 
tion here, in the summer of last year, l where it is 
difficult to stand — whence it is damnation to fall.' 
May G-od grant that I may have strength from on 
high to stand, even in the evil day — and having 
done all things, to stand. 

" Bishop Meade preached the ordination sermon 
3* 



30 MEMOIR OF EEV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

last Sunday, and I never listened to a sermon that 
had so overpowering an effect on myself. May I 
never forget his solemn admonitions, and his en- 
couraging exhortations, with which, in a personal 
address to us who were to be ordained, he closed 
his searching discourse ; and which poured forth 
from a full heart in a strain mostly of supplication 

to Heaven in our behalf. M and A were 

present. I shall commence my labors by taking the 
charge of the servants of one or two neighboring 
plantations in this State, and by endeavoring in 
singleness of heart to break the bread of ever- 
lasting life to them, and by the Divine aid to en- 
lighten their benighted minds with the light of the 
Gospel." 



CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES. 31 



CHAPTBE IV. 

Partial Engagement in Albemarle County., Ya. — Letter from 
Mrs. W. C. Kives — Letter — Letter from Mrs. Page — Labors 
among the Colored People — Description of the Country and 
People. 

"Thebe is a divinity that shapes our ends, 
rough-hew them how we will." This quotation 
from the great poet is applicable to this period of 
Mr. Chisholm's life. While teaching a classical 
school in Washington City, a son of Mr. Eiyes, then 
Senator from Virginia, was placed under his care. 
The acquaintance thus formed led to the recom- 
mendation of him as a fit tutor in the family of 
Mrs. Eives' sister, in Albemarle, where he was in- 
troduced first to the society of the people of Vir- 
ginia. He became from that period identified with 
them ; lived for the rest of his life within the 
State ; married into one of the most extensive 



32 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

families of the Old Dominion — and, as we shall 
see, became in all his views and aims, as one of 
her citizens. The simple circumstance of his re- 
ceiving a pupil in his school, gave direction to his 
future life and fortunes, and led him to the noble 
sacrifice of that life in the Christian devotedness 
which we have been called upon to commemorate. 
The following letter, which we dare not abridge, 
has given rise to this reflection : 

" Castle Hill, November l&th, 1855. 
" Dear Sir : 

"As Mr. R. is very much occupied at tliis time with press- 
ing engagements, you will, I hope, pardon the liberty I take in 
replying to your kind letter, especially as you suggest that I can 
as well inform you of the circumstances of the residence of our 
lamented friend Mr. Chisholm, among us here. 

" Our first acquaintance with Mr. Chisholm was in Washing- 
ton. Mr. E. was then in the Senate, and we found it convenient 
to take a home and have all our family with us. Mr. Chisholm 
had at that time a school or academy, which was highly recom- 
mended to us for our sons, who studied with him several months 
during our sojourn in the city. Our recollection of his amiable 
qualities and high mental endowments, engaged us to recommend 
him most highly, several years after, as tutor in the family of 

my sister, Mrs. M. P , in our immediate neighborhood. He 

remained from October, 1840, to April, 1842, when he removed to 
Martinsburg. His sister, Miss Chisholm, was, during a part of 
this- time, engaged in instructing the daughter of our neighbor, 
Dr. M ; and she could, doubtless, give you more circumstan- 



STUDIES AND LABOKS. 33 

tial and minute information than any one else, of this part of Mr. 
Chisholm's life. 

" During my residence with my sister, he was deeply absorbed 
in theological studies, to which he gave every moment of his 
time that was not occupied with his duties to the pupils under 
his charge. His labors for the benefit of the colored people 
were too brief to have been marked by much success, but all 
bore testimony to his good- will, and the remembrance of his gen- 
tle virtues long survived his residence among us. His friends 
have rejoiced sincerely in hearing of his successful career as a 
preacher of the G-ospel, and watched with the deepest interest 
his noble and courageous self-devotion during the terrible visita- 
tion of the town where he had been called as a minister ; their 
hopes and prayers followed him to the bedside of the sick and 
dying; and when he fell a martyr to his duties, their tears 
dropped on his early grave. Still it was not like the ' sorrow 
without hope,' for they have every assurance that their { loss has 
been his gain.' 

"You have justly called his orphan son 'a child of the 
Church,' and you have our best wishes for the success of your 
memoir for his benefit. "We shall add our mite to the offerings 
already presented for his support and education. 

"I need not say, dear sir, that the few lines I have written are 
for your own eye, as they are manifestly unworthy to find a 
place in your memoir further than the dates they give. 
"I remain very truly yours, 

"J. p. R .» 

The author is willing to rest his respectful vio- 
lation of this last command upon the result of the 
judgment of his readers, whether this letter, from 



34 MEMOIR OF KEV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

this lady, as eminent for her literary taste as for 
her gentle Christian virtues, be " unworthy of a 
place" here. At the risk of seeming tedious, but 
really with the desire only to present the character 
of this interesting man to our readers in all its 
phases, we copy here from a kind letter addressed 
to the author by the lady at whose house Mr. 
Chisholm resided in Albemarle : 

***** "Could I have imagined for a moment that my 
feeble pen would have afforded the slightest aid in contributing to 
your memoir of our excellent and greatly-lamented friend, it should 
have been volunteered long since. * * * I will proceed to answer 
your queries. Dr. P. had long been anxious to secure the services 
of a gentleman who would occupy the two-fold position of teacher 
for our children and instructor of our servants. Two other gen- 
tlemen in our community were also interested in behalf of their 
people, and at Dr. P.'s instance offered to assist him in remunerat- 
ing any one who would undertake to preach to the negroes in 
the vicinity. Dr. P. was informed that Mr. Chisholm, who had 
just been ordained, was willing to undertake the charge. His 
acceptance of the situation was joyfully received, and he arrived 
at this place, as well as I can remember, about the 1st of Nov., 
1840. His naivete and bashfulness, his exceeding amiability and 
warm-hearted cordiality soon made him a favorite, and Dr. P. 
was most happy to take him round the neighborhood and intro- 
duce him to his friends. Ho had never been accustomed to riding 
on horseback, and often declared that nothing would induce him 
to mount a horse in presence of our Virginia boys, and the car- 
riage was always in readinoss whenover ho would consent to 



INCIDENTS. 35 

make a visit. He, however, soon overcame his repugnance, when 
he found his endeavors encouraged instead of being laughed at, 
and became quite a fearless horseman. 

" His kindness to the children of the family was very touching. 
A little girl of six years old, having applied to him to write a 
prayer for her, he kindly complied with her request, and she used 
it long after. Ho also acted as her amanuensis in writing letters 
for her to a brother at the High School, though he confessed it to 
be the most difficult task he had ever undertaken ; and I doubt 
not, would have accomplished an essay in Greek or Hebrew with 
much more ease. He effectually remonstrated with his pupils 
about wasting their precious time in reading fairy tales and ro- 
mances, and endeavored to dissuade the boys from spending one 
day in six in so irrational a manner as hunting ; but boys, and 
dogs, guns, horses, and Saturdays, are too firmly associated in the 
country ever to be separated. 

" He took a great deal of exercise himself, and indeed he was 
so close a student that it was the only recreation he allowed 
himself} and even then his mind was probably as actively en- 
gaged as whon sitting with his books. He frequently walked for 
miles from the house, generally at very early hours. 

" On one occasion while wandering on a neighboring moun- 
tain thickly wooded, he was hailed several times by a man who 
peremptorily ordered him to stop. Not imagining that the call 
was intended for him, he continued at his usual rapid pace, when 
the voice nearing and threatening to shoot, he turned and dis- 
covered to the annoyed pursuer the features of Mr. Chisholm. 
The man apologized very humbly, and to Mr. Chisholm's infinite 
amusement, by saying he ' mistook him for a runaway.'' It was 
scarcely day when the blunder was made, and was heartily for- 
given by Mr. 0. He remained with us until accepting a call to 
Hedgesville, which I think was in April, 1842, but continued 



36 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

preaching to the negroes only about ten months. lie was not 
sufficiently acquainted with them, as a class, to be very success- 
ful, and. his great talents and unusual literary acquirements, pos- 
sibly, rather unfitted him than otherwise for their instruction. 
His labors, however, were well appreciated, and his memory 
still gratefully cherished. He occasionally filled the pulpit of our 

pastor and also of the, Rev. Mr. E , in Louisa and Orange, and 

gave ample evidence of his powers as a preacher in another field. 
His sermons were admirable in every respect, and never failed to 
secure the individual attention of all who heard him. He was at 
the time, doubtless, one of the best linguists of his ago (24) in 
America, and ho was also a good mathematician ; tho only one 
of his pupils who was old enough to be proposed for the Univer- 
sity, having graduated in that school the second session."* 

It will be observed that in two preceding inter- 
esting letters, the idea is conveyed that his labors 
among the colored people were not blessed with 
any very apparent fruits. There is no doubt that 
at that time Mr. Chisholm was not much acquaint- 
ed with the peculiar traits and habits of these peo- 
ple. Nor could he know as well as a person raised 
among them, how to give effect to his teachings. 
Yet in nothing are we more apt to be mistaken 
than in the estimate which we place upon the ser- 
vices of ministers of the Grospel, judging a priori. 
What we often regard as a sermon of great power 
falls upon the dull cold ears of the hearers and no 

* Graduation as M.A., is a rare attainment in the University of Virginia. 



LABOKS AM02TG- THE COLOEED PEOPLE. 37 

result follows ; while, at other times, the efforts of 
the least-esteemed preacher seem to produce won- 
derful effects. It is Grod who giveth the increase. 
It is the Spirit that gives point to the weapon 
which divides soul and spirit. Besides the gentle, 
humble, but earnest bearing of an excellent pastor, 
could not but be appreciated by these poor, simple 
people, who are as keen as children to discover the 
difference between assumed and real interest in 
their welfare ; between the effort to be gracious, 
and the unaffected out-pouring of Christian sympa- 
thy. My last correspondent says that his memory 
is still cherished by those sable parishioners of his 
in Albemarle. We have it in our power to lay a 
further evidence of this before the reader in an ac- 
count which. Mr. 0. himself gave to a friend of 
his in the North. He was leaving Albemarle for a 
visit to Salem, and to reach the public route be- 
tween Charlottesville and Grordonsville, he had to 
travel in the carriage of his kind hostess. Just as 
he stopped to change to the post-route, he saw 
something like a cloud of people running towards 
him. These were members of his colored flock 
who wished to be the last to take leave of him ; 
who had left their quiet cabins, or perhaps their 
field work, to take leave of him, and shake hands 
4 



38 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISIIOLM. 

with him before he started. Was there nothing 
proved of the effect of his ministry among them, 
in this simple incident ? 

"Benttvoglio, Albemarle Co., 
"Nov. 11th, 1840. 

" The residences ara> situated on an average at the distance of 
a mile apart, upon the most commanding or beautiful eminences 
of each plantation. The inhabitants of Albemarle are plain Vir- 
ginia planters, of independent fortune, and agreeable, frank, and 
polished manners. There is a family connection between them 
all, more or less distant ; but never further off than fortieth cousin. 
Cousin appears to be the most social and endearing appellation ; 
and it is amusing to hear sometimes a sexagenarian addressing a 
child of six or eight years with the title of ' Cousin BiMy,' 'Cou- 
sin Patsy,' etc. Children call their mothers Mamma, and their 
nurses, (who are in every case aged females,) Mammy. The Mam- 
my of a family is always the object of respect and affection. 
There is a church a few miles distant, which they style the ' Free 
Union,' which is preached in alternately by all the denomina- 
tions, the Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and clergy of the 
Church, and which I think must be a curiosity ; they say its pul- 
pit is a large-sized hogshead, five and a half feet perpendicular 
depth, so that a person of my height would just entirely escape 
being seen, and the eyes and nose of a person six feet in height 
could be barely descried above the horizon of this modern rostrum. 
A preacher of our Church was lately holding forth therein on the 
fall of man, when the tall stool on which ho was necessarily 
perched in order to be seen by the audience, gave way and 
eclipsed him temporarily from the spectators. There is one glass 



DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. 39 

window in the edifice, which is immediately behind the rotund 
pulpit. There is a sufficient quantity of other windows, but they 
are paned with wood instead of glass, and require opening to 
produce any appreciable effect. This, however, is not the house 
at which the members of our Church, in this vicinity, worship. 
They have an ancient church about four miles distant. The ser- 
vants on this plantation, Dr. Page's, are about 100 in number, 
occupying from 2-0 to 30 ' log cabins.' The fields, at this late 
season of the year, are overspread with a fresh and delicate green. 
This is the wheat just springing up, which remains unprotected 
except by the snows of winter, until in early spring it resumes its 
process of growing, and in June is harvested. Directly behind 
the house arises a lofty ridge of mountain-land, to the height of 
1000 feet, from the top of which, a most delightful and almost 
boundless prospect opens to the view, including the fertile coun- 
ties of Orange, Nelson, Louisa, and Cumberland, which form one 
vast plain, extending off to the Alleghanies. In the midst of the 
plain or slope stands the University of Virginia and the town of 
Charlottesville, Monticello; out to the north, Montpelier, Mrs. 
Madison's residence." 



40 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 



CHAPTER V. 

Settlement in Norborne Parish, Berkeley County — Visiting the 
Sick — Manner of his Ministrations — Letters from Martinsburg 
and Hedgesville — "A Scene in our Parish." 

The circumstances under which Mr. Chisholm 
was inducted into his first parish — that of Nor- 
borne, comprising the two congregations of Trinity, 
(Martinsburg,) and Mount Zion, Hedgesville, 
Berkeley County, "Virginia — were of a nature to 
deter a self-indulgent, or even a prudent minister 
of the Gospel, from the undertaking. The con- 
gregations of each were small, and by no means 
comprising the most opulent of our Christian peo- 
ple — that in Hedgesville especially — the country 
congregations consisting, with a few exceptions, 
of a people of very moderate means ; that of 
Martinsburg — besides being numerically smaller 
than the country congregation — distracted and al- 
most disorganized, through a series of adversities 
which made it a work of great patience to build 
it up again. But a few years before his coming 



SETTLEMENT IN N0KB0KNE. 41 

into the parish, the rector, who was the third in 
the series before him, was, under circumstances of 
a mortifying character, publicly tried by three 
presbyters of the Church, and suspended for in- 
temperance. His successor, a most estimable 
and accomplished young man from Pennsylvania, 
was snatched by a sudden and violent fever from 
his earthly labors, after officiating but once or 
twice. 

His successor, and the immediate predecessor 
of Mr. Chisholm, a most devoted and active pas- 
tor, thought it advisable to build a new church, 
more central in its location; and this — besides 
being undertaken contrary to the avowed wishes 
of some of the most influential of his parish- 
ioners — involved him, upon whom the duty of 
the superintendence was improperly imposed, in a 
variety of difficulties of a secular character ; in 
differences with workmen, and liabilities for work 
done, and materials furnished — leaving debts 
which could not be readily met, and producing as 
usual in such cases, dissatisfaction on the part of 
creditors, and bickerings and make-shifts among 
the members of the congregation. There was no 
parsonage then either in Martinsburg or Hedges- 

ville ; the one was built in the former place shortly 
4* 



42 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

before his connection with the parish was dissolved 
— and he knowing all this, fully awake to this 
state of things, came into it to act as mediator and 
peace-maker, which he did at the cost of much 
self-denial and suffering on his part ; for, with a 
disinterestedness which always made him think 
last of himself, these very liabilities rendered his 
stipend more precarious and smaller than was suf- 
ficient for his comfort at all times, but as will be 
seen, especially so after his marriage, and in- 
creased expenditures in the support of a family. 
This subject will, as a matter of course, in giving 
the history of his labors in Berkeley, be again pre- 
sented, but in his own letters, referring to the 
causes of his leaving Berkeley County for Ports- 
mouth. 

He did not choose to live in Martinsburg, but 
determined to reside at the mountain. This again 
was an act of self-denial, while it was a prudent 
and judicious course. The county town is one of 
the old towns of Virginia, founded before the 
revolution, of some three thousand population, 
with such society as is usually found in Southern 
towns where the courts attract professional men, 
the numerous churches require respectable minis- 
ters, and the business of an important railroad en- 



MASTSTER OF HIS MINISTRATIONS. 43 

trepot gather together merchants, mechanics, and 
artisans. He relinquished the more congenial so- 
ciety of the town for the plain fare and manners 
of his mountain parishioners, and for six years re- 
sided in the country near the small town of 
Hedgesville, (then much smaller than at present,) 
only visiting his Martinsburg parish at intervals. 
The writer, in adhering to his plan of letting the 
writings of Mr. Chisholm tell his own history 
where they can, will here present to his readers a 
specimen of his pastoral care in the admission of 
members to the rite of confirmation. It was his 
invariable rule to send to each one a set of ques- 
tions, in writing, to be answered in writing by the 
persons seeking admission into the church. The 
following are those sent to his brother-in-law, who 
entered the church under his ministry : 

Part I. — Q. 1st Do you renounce the devil and all his works, 
the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires 
of the same, and the sinful desires of the flesh ? Will it be your 
daily and habitual endeavor, by the help of God, not to follow 
or be led by them ? 

A. Amongst the works of the devil are these : " All bitterness, and 
anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, with all malice." Do 
you renounce these ? 

B. " The vain pomp and glory of the world." Upon this head I 
ask, will you make it a solemn matter of conscience not to 



44 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

visit places of worldly amusement, or mingle in such company 
as you have found, or may reasonably expect, will prove hurt- 
ful to your soul ? 

C. Are you resolved not to engage in any thing upon which you 
can not ask the blessing of God ? 

D. "All covetous desires." "Will you systematically and cheer- 
fully contribute towards benevolent Christian objects ? 

Part II. — Dost thou believe all the articles of the Christian 
Faith % 
A, Do you realize that you are a sinner, guilty and condemned, 

and do you acknowledge this unto God ? 
& Do you, with all your heart, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ 

— that is, place your steadfast and entire reliance upon His 

precious atoning death for your forgiveness and acceptance 

with your Heavenly Father ? 

Part m. — " Wilt thou obediently keep God's holy will and com- 
mandments, and walk in the same all the days of thy life f 

A. "Will you daily and diligently search, the Holy Scriptures 
with prayer, to Mow what His will is ? 

B. Will you live in the practice of daily secret prayer ? 

C. Will you diligently and prayerfully use every means of grace, 
both public and private ? 

D. Will you seriously endeavor to do good in the Sunday-school ? 
K Is it your purpose often to call to mind the vows taken in your 

name at your baptism, or which you in your own person have 
solemnly renewed at your confirmation, in which you conse- 
crate yourself, and all you have, to God, and engage to keep 
yourself unspotted from the world ? 

The duties of the pastoral office were new to 
Mr. Chisholm. His manners were the reverse of 



MARKER OF HIS MINISTRATIONS. 45 

the Jesuit model, (a stately severity relaxed by an 
occasional studied amenity of deportment;) in 
fact, his manner was so unaffectedly humble that 
it would have lessened his influence, by encour- 
aging undue familiarity, if the transparent sin- 
cerity of his character had not always neutralized 
this result. Still, when stern duty required him 
to exercise discipline, it was done ; and the more 
certainly, because it was exercised not from im- 
pulse, but from a high sense of duty. A case of 
this sort occurred not long after his residence was 
taken up in the parish. The combined existence 
of firmness with meekness, in his character, was 
by this example first made known to many of his 
friends. 

In visiting the sick and the afflicted, he was 
never neglectful. He was sitting one night during 
a violent snow-storm, which was drifting the snow 
to the fence-tops in the mountain-gorge where his 
residence was fixed, before a comfortable fire, con- 
versing with the lady of the mansion, his parish- 
ioner. She mentioned that a very poor and friend- 
less woman was, as she thought, dying— who was 
not a member of his church, nor personally known 
to him. It was then ten o'clock at night. "I 
must see her to-night," said he ; and before a re- 



46 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

monstrance could be made lie was out in tlie dark- 
ness and storm, threading his way to the poor 
woman's residence, half a mile distant. The lady 
was really uneasy, and could not go to bed until 
his return, which was late in the night. She took 
occasion, in directing the servant to dry his boots, 
to observe that he had no boots, but shoes only — 
and these were the cheapest sort — with soles made 
up in part of thicknesses of paper , pasted together. 
She showed these to her husband, who quickly 
substituted good boots for the paper-soled shoes. 

In his ministerial services in the desk, his effort 
was to exhibit the full beauty and power of the 
Common Prayer. There was an accuracy in his 
conduct of the Service (always so dear to Episco- 
palians) which made it still more acceptable. His 
reading was characterized by a very subdued and 
solemn manner and tone, and a precision of pro- 
nunciation and emphasis which might serve as a 
model. His preaching, we trust, may be better 
judged of by the publication of his sermons, or 
selections of them, which has in fact already been 
spoken of. Of his pastoral life in Berkeley from 
1842 to 1850, we of course can give but occasional 
incidents. 

Among many of his letters to his friends during 



PASTORAL LIFE IjST BERKELEY. 47 

this period, we lay the following before our read- 
ers as containing striking instances of his power 
of description. 

NO. I. 

" Hedgesyille, Berkeley Co., Ya., Aug. 10, 1842. 

"And now I will tell you * what I am about, and what I mean 
to* do ;' or, rather, what I hope to do. I am engaged pretty regu- 
larly in parochial visiting a part of each week. The scenes of a 
country pastor's life are generally of a still-life cast. I move on 
noiselessly from house to house, generally on horseback, spending 
sometimes an hour or so, sometimes half of the day, at one place. 
My visit is frequently concluded with devotional exercises, as 
reading the Scriptures, and commenting in a few words on the 
portion read — singing and prayer. 

"A gentleman remarked, who was present on one of these occa- 
sions, that he scarce ever witnessed a more beautiful or affecting 
sight. It was at evening prayer. The whole family (including 
in all three generations) was gathered around me ; the aged 
grandparent, sister to the late Chief- Justice Marshall, in the centre 
of the group. After commenting on the portion read in the usual 
formal manner, I was interrupted by the old lady, with some very 
beautiful and pertinent remarks by way of comment or continua- 
tion of my own, and also with some inquiries in regard to the 
point in hand. There was something, it seems to me, surpass- 
ingly pleasing to the eye of taste and sensibility in the attitude of 
deference, respect, and attention with which the old lady, the 
very personification of venerable and extreme old age, leaned for 
ward to catch every word of instruction which fell from the lips 
of mere youth, and in the anxious interest written on every coun- 
tenance in the family group." 

* * * * * 



48 MEMOIR OF KEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 



NO. II. A SCENE IN OUR PARISH. 

"Sunday, October 16, 1842. 

" During the morning service the baptism of a male adult, of 
the age of sixty-four years, took place. By the confession of 
every one present it was a most solemn and impressive rite, and 
to me was overpowering. Until a year or more past, the subject 
of this ordinance had been one of the wildest, most reckless, dis- 
sipated, and profane of men. The period of probation through 
which he has since passed, gives the most satisfactory evidence 
of the Divine origin of the change which has completely trans- 
formed him. His assumption of the awful vows of renunciation 
of the world, the flesh, and the devil, amid a large concourse ot 
persons who were acquainted with him throughout his past wild 
career, it may be hoped will produce, under the Divine blessing, 
an awakening effect in the thoughtless. He was so tall that, 
when kneeling before me at the church-rail to receive Baptism, 
his head was as high as my own. 

"Some spectator remarked that the effect of the whole was not 
a little heightened by the very strong contrasts presented by the 
appearance and circumstances of the parties immediately engaged 
in this momentous act. The party officiating, extremely youthful, 
and of a ruddy countenance, and withal little in stature, looking, as 
the aforesaid spectator observed, ' like a little spirit.' The candidate, 
'all stern of look and strong of limb,' but meekly, and humbly, and 
firmly answering to those solemn interrogatories : ' Dost thou re- 
nounce, etc. ?' ' Wilt thou then obediently keep, etc. ?' then bending 
low in prayer. One, during the last war, a man whose fearlessness 
was proverbial, now sealed and enrolled as a valiant soldier under 
the banner of a heavenly leader. And, to complete the picture, 
the 'chosen witness,' or godfather, a venerable octogenarian, 
whose term of service in the Church militant begun when he was 



PASTORAL LIFE IN BERKELEY. 49 

but a mere stripling, is now nearly expired — altogether presented 
a spectacle rarely witnessed." 



NO. III. 

11 Oct 20, 1842. 
* * * " My labors go on increasing. The parish is one of the 
most toilsome imaginable ; for though it is not a matter of abso- 
lute necessity to write a set discourse oftener than once a fort- 
night, yet I feel myself called hither and thither to visit the sick, 
the poor, the bad, the good, and to perform occasional offices. I 
generally preach twice, sometimes three times every Sunday — the 
third time I am ten miles distant from the first place of preaching 
in the morning. On Sunday night last, I preached to a whole 
mill full of people. 

" Not long since, I was called to go ten miles on horseback, to 
perform the marriage ceremony, arriving at sunset ; and briefly 
thereafter there was an infant presented to be baptized, the child 
of two of the invited guests. I thought the occasion an extremely 
interesting one. "We had a great bridal-supper." 

NO. IV. 

" Hedgesville, Aug. 30, 1843. 
" I have sent you by mail a number of the Southern Churchman, 
containing a notice of the consecration of our neat and tasty little 
church at Martinsburg, where for eight years or more, the Epis- 
copal congregation has had no stated place for worshipping. For- 
merly, they had a fine old church, but inconveniently located. 
They have been for years a dwindling congregation. They ap- 
pear now to be exhibiting signs of returning life. Although 
there have been but very few additions to the communion since 
5 



50 MEMOIR OF KEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

my c onnection with the parish, yet I think I have, on the whole, 
several grounds of encouragement. It is a parish in which not 
every man would suit. The mass of the congregation at Mar- 
ti nsburg, though few in number, are of the most intelligent and 
influential people in the place, whilst in the other, and by far the 
larger portion of the parish, the people are plain, unaffected, un- 
lettered, and many of them in limited or reduced circumstances. 
The pastor of a flock, made up of such heterogeneous materials, 
must, whilst he possesses firmness of character and fixedness of 
principle, at the same time be pliant and elastic in his manners. 
He must not offend the refined and cultivated taste, whilst, at the 
same time, he must condescend to men of low degree, in plain- 
ness of speech, in unaffectedness of manners, in simplicity of garb 
even ; and all this, too, must be done naturally, without seeming to 
condescend or to make an effort. He must never be offended with 
the most frugal of fare, or the greatest lack of finish and complete- 
ness in any domestic arrangements of the family with whom he is 
visiting. He must never appear to be preferring the stately man- 
sions of the wealthy, the refined, the intelligent of his flock, to 
the humble thresholds of others who, though they may not con- 
tribute so much to his support, yet deprive themselves of many a 
little gratification or comfort, and stint themselves and their fami- 
lies in various ways, all the while sitting up late and rising early, 
and eating the bread of carefulness, that they may do a trifle in 
the way of supporting their Church and their pastor. 

11 He must grasp as heartily the hard, rough, herculean hand of 
the toil-worn farmer, or the blacksmith, or the tanner, or the hired 
day-laborer, as the smooth, white hand of the State's attorney, or 
the ' Member-elect for Berkeley.' The one he must meet with as 
cheerful a smile, and a countenance as expressive of kind interest 
and concern as the other. 

"There are two old gentlemen, each of whom has been a com- 



PASTOKAL LIFE IN BERKELEY. 51 

municant for years, neither of whom can write or read ; and yet, 
in their station, £ they adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour in 
all things.' And I will venture to say that either of them could 
stump a Moses Stuart on the subject of the Divine claims of a 
three-fold ministry, or the arguments suggested by common-sense' 
in favor of a Liturgical service — at least they could meet him with 
sounder arguments than his." 

NO. V. 

" Hedges ville, Oct 5, 1843. 
" My time is occupied as usual. The routine of a country cler- 
gyman's life is quite unvarying. I spend a part, perhaps not less 
than half, of each week in visiting. Sometimes I set out on a 
tour from which I do not reach home again under four or five 
days. It is not considered kindly or social in a pastor to go away 
without taking a meal, at least. As I always endeavor to meet 
the wishes of those among whom I go, in this respect, I have 
once or twice, when making calls in considerable haste, been ob- 
liged to sit down oftener than the usual number of times. On 
one occasion — it was a short day at the last winter solstice — I 
was actually obliged to take five meals." 

jjt H* •!• H» t* 



52 MEMOIR OF BEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 



CHAPTER VI. 

His Marriage — Letter — Tertullian — Eesides in Martinsburg — His 
First-bom — Escape of the Child from Death. 

I proceed to the mention of that event, so in- 
teresting and so important always in the life of 
every man, and perhaps more important to minis- 
ters of the Gospel than to men of other professions 
by just so much as the aid of the wife is more ne- 
cessary to the useful discharge of his duties than in 
perhaps any other profession or calling. Besides 
the domestic routine common to all wives, and 
not lessened often in ministers' wives by a super- 
abundance of servants and an overflowing larder, 
the wife of a parish minister, according to the 
usages of the land and by general consent, is re- 
quired to assume and maintain a like relation to the 
female social circle that her clerical husband bears 
tow&rd^his male parishioners. To a certain extent 
this is expected and unavoidable, and according 
to the character of the minister's wife, the occasion 
of much good, or the reverse, in the relations sub- 



HIS MAEEIAGE. 53 

sisting between the minister and his people. He 
was married, August 10th, 1847, to Jane Byrd 
Page, daughter of John White Page, Esq., of 
Clarke county, Va. This lady was found willing 
to share with him the trials and privations of a 
minister's life, and as she has preceded him to the 
better world, nothing forbids us to say that no 
man ever exhibited greater wisdom in the choice 
of a wife. She was raised the child of a happy, 
refined home. She well knew that one of the im- 
plied vows of every Protestant minister was the 
same vow of poverty which is ostensibly assumed 
by every member of the order of Jesuits, with this 
difference in the practical result, that the wife has 
to share in the same, for better, for worse, while 
life lasts. Yet she calmly but resolutely cast in 
her lot with one who was every way worthy of 
her trust, and whose existence, as long as she lived, 
was brightened with the blessedness of an uninter- 
rupted and happy matrimonial union. In a letter 
dated Nov. 15th, 1848, written to a brother of his 
wife on the occasion of the expected nuptials of 
that gentleman, he gives in a quotation from 
Tertullian, a picture which embodies his own ex- 
perience and sentiments, and which I present as a 
fair picture of his own wedded life : 



54 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

" You are on the high road to a pure and rational happiness. 
And how much joy it gives us to learn that Miss R. has not only- 
rare accomplishments of intellect and character, but, likewise, that 
she possesses that ' which in the sight of God, is of great price ! 
— the ornament of a pious spirit. I trust that with her you too 
will choose the better part, that so you may live ' as heirs to- 
gether of the grace of life.' TertuUian, one of the first Christian 
fathers, discourses on the subject of Christian matrimony so 
sweetly, that I can not forbear to quote him : ' How can we find 
words to describe the happiness of that marriage which the 
Church joineth together, and the united participation of the com- 
munion confirmeth, and the blessing sealeth, the angels report, 
the Father ratifieth ? For not even on the earth do sons marry 
rightly and lawfully without the consent of their fathers. What 
an union is that of two believers of one hope, one vow, one dis- 
cipline — the same service ! Both brethren, both fellow-servants ! 
No distinction of spirit or of flesh, but really twain in one flesh 
and in one spirit ! Together they pray, together fall down, and 
together pass their holy time : teaching one another, exhorting 
one another, waiting on one another. Both are together in the 
Church of God, together in the feast of God, together in straits, 
in persecutions, in refreshments. Neither hideth aught from the 
other, neither shunneth the other, neither is a burden to the 
other. Alms without torture, sacrifices without scruple, daily dili- 
gence without hindrance ! No stealthy, hurried, silent perform- 
ance of religious exercises. Psalms and hymns resound between 
the two, and they provoke one another, which shall sing the best 
to his God. Such things Christ, seeing and hearing, rejoiceth. 
To these He sendeth his peace — Where two are, the.re is Him- 
self also : where Himself also is, there also the Evil one is not.' " 

Shortly after his marriage, Mr. Ohisholm took 



HIS FIEST-BOEjST. 55 

Tip Ms residence, with, his newly- wedded wife, in 
Martinsburg. His visits, however, to the kind 
people of Mount Zion parish, among whom he 
had so long resided, were frequent, and the com- 
pany of his amiable lady added to the gratifica- 
tion and the hearty welcome of his old friends 
there. 

In September, 1848, his first-born, and now 
sole surviving child, William Byrd Chisholm, was 
born. This darling of his parents is now the ob- 
ject of interest, from the fact that by the last 
written request of his departed father, he has be- 
come the " Child of the Church," by his solemn 
dedication, in an eloquent and touching document 
which will form the closing chapter of this me- 
moir. But those who recollect the joyous out- 
pourings of paternal feeling which greeted his 
birth, do not all know what a severe shock was 
experienced by these young parents on the occur- 
rence of a most unusual and almost fatal circum- 
stance, that for a time embittered their joy and en- 
dangered his life. A free girl of color presented 
herself as a nurse, not long after his birth, in re- 
sponse to an expressed wish for a careful and ex- 
perienced one ; there was nothing in her appear- 
ance to indicate the fiend-like spirit that she after- 



56 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

wards manifested, and she was employed to nurse 
the boy on her own terms, and with her free con- 
sent ; and yet, not long after she had the charge 
of him, he was observed to be at times strangely 
affected, and apparently pining away, at last seized 
with violent spasms threatening his life — this last 
attack occurred at the house of a brother clergy- 
man in a neighboring town. It was discovered 
that opiates had been given to him, and the act 
was traced to this nurse; but what was more 
alarming it was discovered that he had been forced 
to swallow quantities of broken pins and needles ! 
Circumstances pointed to this miserable girl as the 
perpetrator of this wicked deed. Her guilt was 
ascertained beyond reasonable doubt, and the 
community was decidedly of opinion that Mr. 0. 
should proceed under the law of Virginia in such 
cases. The worthy rector — even then in fear for 
his child, for he was still suffering from the effects 
of this dreadful treatment, and by no means cer- 
tain that his child could survive it — at first gave 
no expression of purpose to his friend and coun- 
sellor. The girl upon detection had absconded, 
though she was known to be lurking in the 
neighborhood, and could at any time have been 
apprehended by the officers of the law. This 



ESCAPE OF HIS CHILD. 57 

course the Attorney for the Commonwealth 
urged very strenuously. In a day or two 
Mr. Chisholm called upon this friend, who 
well remembers the characteristic determination 
of the reverend gentleman, and the manner in 
which he conveyed to him his final purpose. He 
observed that he had been very deeply exercised 
in mind as to his duty in regard to the prosecu- 
tion. "For myself," said he, "I can declare be- 
fore God, that I have no malicious feeling towards 
the poor creature ; any indignation and wish to 
see her punished, if any I entertained, has passed 
away. For myself, I would leave her to her 
Maker ; punishing her can not undo the deed, or 
restore the child, if he is to suffer permanently 
from this dreadful infliction. I forgive her. Nor 
would my wife desire to make her a public ex- 
ample ; but, sir, if you will say that it is my duty 
as a public citizen, to bring this matter before the 
courts, I shall do so, but reluctantly, because of 
the ladies who would have to testify, and because 
it might look like revenge on my part ; but if not, 
let it pass ; she can never harm us again. May 
God forgive her." These sentiments — together 
with the fact that the act was committed in an- 
other county — whether rightfully or wrongfully, 
prevented the prosecution. 



58 MEMOIR OF KEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

Thus at the threshold of life, did this child of 
many prayers and hopes escape from death almost 
by a miracle, may we not hope for some good end, 
in the providence of God? 

LETTER. 

" Martixsburg, February 22, 1848. 
" My Dear Brother and Sister: 

" I spent some four or five days in Clarke, and I need not tell 
you my stay was of the pleasantest sort. Our good old Bishop 
was snngly ensconced in winter quarters at his residence, 
(most appropriately named ''Mountain View, 1 ) distant not two 
miles from Mr. P.'s. I never saw the excellent man in better 
spirits. The crowding memories of other years, so vividly called 
up by companionship with the friend of his childhood and youth, 
[Mr. P.,] were happily not, as is too often the case with aged 
friends, of a sombre tinge, but were of an unwonted vivacity and 
entertaining character. The Bishop— who, as he is undoubtedly 
more widely known in Virginia^ and wields a greater moral in- 
fluence at this day than any of her sons, so is better versed in 
the individual history of Virginia than any other man — charmed 
and delighted us with reminiscences of scenes and events in the 
past history of the State, and of the Church in this State, and 
with sketches of character. He drew a most affecting picture 
of the spiritual desolation of the Church of Virginia, at the time 
of his earliest acquaintance with men and things, and even after 
he had been some years in the ministry. Sad as the narrative 
was, it was not unrelieved by touches of humor, which the good 
Bishop introduces with the most irresistible effect, from the cir- 
cumstance that he so rarely indulges in such a strain." 



HIS COUKSE AS PASTOR. 59 



chapter yn. 

His Course as a Pastor — Sunday-Schools — Bible-Classes — Attach- 
ments of the Colored People — Letters. 

I proceed to notice, at this stage of my work, 
whatever may illustrate the subject of this memoir, 
in his character and ministrations as a minister of 
the Gospel, officiating as parish presbyter. From 
the very bearing and humble deportment of the 
man we should not look for that commanding 
and sometimes dictatorial authority, which men of 
more portly dimensions, sterner aspect, and con- 
trolling will oftentimes exercise over their flocks. 
His influence was of the gentler kind, the persua- 
sive rather than the forceful ; and truly, the melt- 
ing warmth of his gentle influence was frequently 
more effective in inducing the objects of it to throw 
off their cloak of reserve, or prejudice, or self-de- 
pendence, than ministrations of a harsher tone. 
He walked humbly, and was watchful over all, 
even the lambs of the flock. His old parishioners, 



60 MEMOIR OF BEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

also, can remember how lie reclaimed those who 
were about to be lured into other folds. He did 
not proselyte himself, but he knew his rights and 
his duties as a pastor, and he resisted effectually 
any attempt to draw off members of his church. 

He was very careful in the instruction of his 
young people, by the Bible- Class, that most valua- 
ble aid to the pulpit. These classes were composed 
of the older as well as the younger people; and he 
did not confine himself to oral lecturing and exa 
mination, but he propounded in writing to the 
members, searching questions demanding the care- 
ful collation of passages of Scripture, as well as 
illustrative readings, and they were requested to 
produce, in writing, answers to these questions. 

The Sunday -School, also, was a favorite object of 
his care. The children loved him ; he had a child 
like innocency of manner and simplicity of taste , 
this was something in common between him and 
the little ones, and thus their sympathy was almost 
perfect. 

He was, likewise, of all clergymen that we have 
ever known, the most acceptable to our colored 
people; his unaffected kindness of manner won 
their affections ; his Sunday evening services for 
their special benefit were always attended by a 



RELATIONS WITH HIS PEOPLE. 61 

crowded congregation, to which, many would go 
who were not members of any church, but who 
never failed to listen to his persuasive teachings. 
He perhaps performed the ceremony of matrimony 
for them oftener than any other clergyman among 
his ^temporaries, officiating for such as were not 
of our communion in his gown and bands, without 
a book, reciting it accurately from memory. 

But the pastoi^ life has a " shady side" as well 
as a " sunny side." Kr Chisholm removed from 
his parish to another in &a extreme southern part 
of the State, where he finished "his ministry. His 
removal was caused in part by the inadequacy of 
his support. His own written statement, bearing 
on this part of the reason, we lay before the reader, 
regretting that fidelity requires it, yet believing 
that it will do good. Let us who are of the people 
face the truth — it never does harm to any body. 
The relation between pastor and people, under the 
voluntary system, (the only feasible or endurable 
one in our country,) is a very delicate one. Great 
injustice is sometimes, almost unwittingly, done to 
the sensitive, dependent, conscientious pastor from 
sheer neglect. We forget the narrow stipend — we 
don't inquire whether it is paid — we perhaps lay 
down our subscription, or pew-rent, and feel very 
6 



62 MEMOIR OF BEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

virtuous indeed at our liberality and punctuality, 
and all the time the minister may be half-starved 
— the wife stinting, and saving, and suffering, and 
expected too to dress, and visit, and work for the 
church, and be very happy. Let it, however, be 
stated before giving this history in brief, \htf no 
unkind feelings were retained on either si^« The 
renewal of intercourse in after-years brought out 
all of former kindness on the o^ side, and of re- 
spect and affection on the o*Zier. 

" Portsmouth, V a., July 1, 1850. 
"My Dear Broker: I find your most welcome letter in the 
office this moaning. Your observations on the contrast of the 
past, in o«r domestic affairs, with the present, strikes a respons- 
ive ciord in my own heart. I can not repress the occasional 
guehings of deep and sad emotion, at the recollection of those 
pleasant days and scenes — I may truly say the most pleasant of 
my life. Sometimes the recollection that for a short while a home 
was mine, and with it all the joys that crowd the household nook, 
not the least of which was the companionship of bejoved kindred 
and friends. The attempt to realize it, to assure myself that it 
has been and is not now, costs me a pang. Last night I dreamed 
of the parsonage ; I thought we had not vacated it, that we were 
still living there ; and I went to the pleasant window of my little 
study, and viewed with admiration the improved appearance of 
the garden-lot, carefully weeded and teeming with fine vegetables 
and fruits. And I may add that the reflection which consoles me 
under the too early loss of that which had been so long the object 
of my ardent wishes, (not on my account, solely or chiefly, but 



LETTER FROM PORTSMOUTH. 63 

on our dear Jane's account,) is this: that it would have been 
madness for me to remain to be pinched and pushed, as I must 
inevitably be with so scanty a stipend, so irregularly paid. I 
now, and at this distance of time and place, look back with 
amazement at the careless indifference shown for so many years 
by all but one or two towards me and my temporal welfare, when 
my exertions and best years were so unsparingly devoted, to my 
best ability, to their spiritual and eternal interests. But I neither 
regret having persevered in laboring in that my first parish, nor, 
on the other hand, having left as and when I did. 

"I recollect our good friend H., one day shortly before my de- 
parture, expressing regret that I entered as soon as I did upon 
the occupancy of the parsonage, and adding his strong persuasion 
that had I waited until the entire completion of the building be- 
fore entering it, I would not have listened to the Portsmouth 
offer. This was a mistaken impression of his. Had I not already 
commenced housekeeping when the first communications from 
Portsmouth were received in February, I should probably have 
accepted their offer without hesitation. It was my having en- 
tered into possession of the parsonage which led me first promptly 
to decline, and subsequently to deliberate much before decision. 
The parsonage would not have been completed at this time. 
Had I waited for such an occurrence, I should have denied my- 
self the little brief relish of 'Home,' which I have tasted. Please 
correct for me any impressions of the sort you may hear stated." 

The rest of this letter is taken up in details of 
the troubles and mortification arising from the 
difficulty of settling his accounts. 

It is nearly a year after, in his letter of June 
9th, 1851, that he writes : "It will be interesting 



Gi MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISH0LM. 

news to you that every cent of tlie unpaid balance 
of my salary, due from Trinity Church, lias been 
paid up." But if these dues had been paid when 
he was leaving, it would have saved much trouble 
and anxiety to this faithful minister. This S3 00, 
from both parishes, would have cleared oft" his 
little dues, enabled him himself to settle before 
he left, thus correcting improper charges and bills, 
and the farewell would have been heartier and 
truer between minister and people. I have not 
alluded to this subject without a purpose. I well 
know that all are not to blame for "keeping back 
part of the price" agreed to be paid for a minis- 
ter's services ; that many pay up scrupulously. 
I have not gone into details, as I might have done 
by simply transcribing Mr. C.'s letters before me. 
My purpose is of a far higher aim than to admon- 
ish, or to bring charges against individuals. I 
take my share of the blame. It is everywhere, 
in every parish — an evil to a greater or less ex- 
tent. Let those who have kept back the wages 
and hire of these hard-working but poorly-paid 
servants of the Lord, which they have engaged 
and promised to pay, look to it If there be less 
danger of legal proceedings, for the enforcement 
of such claims, so much stronger is the moral ob- 



AFFECTION OF HIS PARISHIONERS. 65 

ligation, so much, the more is the clergyman's un- 
paid pew-rent or subscription, a debt of honor. 
This neglect to pay up their subscriptions to 
clergymen, I must be permitted to say, is fraught 
with a further evil ; for it overburdens those who 
feel the good name of the Church to be at stake, 
and who look into the condition also of their pas- 
tor and his family; and these superadded bur- 
dens sometimes bear hard upon others, whose lib- 
erality may be greater than their means. If these 
few reflections should have the effect of awaken- 
ing Christian professors to a higher sense of duty 
on this subject, the author will have attained his 
end, in referring to a matter fraught with painful 
recollections, and not to be adverted to save in a 
spirit of Christian candor, and from a sense of 
duty. Again, let it be understood that these 
views are not to be considered as setting forth, the 
relations between Mr. Chisholm and his former 
parishioners, in the times subsequent to his removal. 
All feeling of irritation soon passed away. Sub- 
sequent visits to Berkeley, by exhibiting the esti- 
mate in which he was held, would alone have 
proved this. The spontaneous outpouring of 
kindly feeling, the warm greetings between parish- 
ioners and their former pastor — all the evidences 



66 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

of Christian fellowship and sincere affection were 
shown and acknowledged by him, and in the last 
dark days of doubt and suspense during the pes- 
tilence, this deep feeling shone out in our very 
streets. There was sympathy in every eye, and 
the anxious query on every tongue — "How is 
it with dear Mr. Chisholm ?" 

In speaking of the pastoral labors of the Eev. 
Mr. Chisholm, it may be natural that inquiry 
should be made as to the numbers who were 
united to the Church under his ministry. This is 
by many persons regarded as the sole, or at least 
the chief test of the success of a minister of the 
Gospel. We beg leave to dissent from this opin- 
ion ; although perhaps Mr. Chisholm's ministry 
may well compare, in this respect, with that of 
the most of his brethren in the ministry. 

He was the instrument under Grod of adding 
many to the communion of the Church, during 
the eight years of his ministry in Berkeley. In 
July, 1845, eighteen were confirmed at one time. 
Many others were added to the churches at differ- 
ent times. His successor, in making his report to 
the Convention of 1851, remarks, in reporting 
twenty -two additional communicants: "This re- 
port, as well as that from Norborne parish, in- 



SUCCESS OF HIS MINISTRY. 67 

eludes the official acts of my esteemed predecessor 
— Rev. James Chisholm. Not only so, but he la- 
bored for some eight years diligently and faith- 
fully. I have only entered into his labors and 
reaped what he had sown. May both of us re- 
joice together." His success also in Portsmouth 
— where he built up a church from small begin- 
nings, and under peculiar disadvantages, arising 
from the fact that the congregation of St. John's 
had separated itself from the older congregation 
of the Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, and had 
called him as their first pastor — shows that even 
by the numerical test, he was successful. But his 
example of Christian humility, and holiness of 
life and conversation, was a blessing to many 
whose names were not inscribed upon the church 
register, when he was called away from them. 
His maxim was, to "sow beside all waters," leav- 
ing results with Him who is able to make the 
seeds spring up and bring forth fruit unto ever- 
lasting life. 



68 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Removal from Berkeley — Letters on the Subject — Numbers added 
to Communion — This not the only Test of Fidelity and Useful- 
ness — Resignation — Removes to Portsmouth — Identification 
with the People — Letter to the Author — Journey together in 
Company to Convention in Wheeling, in 1853 — Incidents — 
Letter. 

The connection of eight years between Mr. 
Chisholm and his Berkeley congregations was dis- 
solved by the following letter : 

" Martinsburg, June 13, 1850. 

" Dear Friends: In conformity with the apparent indications 
of the Divine will and providence, I have come to the conclusion 
to ask of you your assent to the dissolution of those, to me, most 
pleasant pastoral relations which have subsisted between us for 
eight years. 

4{ I earnestly and humbly commend my beloved parishioners 
to the kind regard, and the blessing of the Great Head of the 
Church. 

"Will you, my esteemed friends of the two vestries, accept 
my heartfelt thanks for your kind, generous exertions and sacri- 
fices for the furtherance of my interests and comfort ? May God 
bless, preserve, and prosper you and yours. 

" Tour greatly attached friend, 

"James Chisholm 

" To the United Vestries cf Norlcrne Parish, Berkeley." 



REMOVAL FROM BERKELEY. 69 

Shortly after this, Mr. Chisholm remoyed to 
Portsmouth, Virginia, in compliance with a call 
to that place from a new congregation — as rector 
of which he remained from 1850 until his death, 
in 1855. 

Our friend was at his post in Portsmouth in 
about a month after his resignation of the Berkeley 
parish. His labors here we shall not enlarge upon. 
He found congenial hearts, warm friends, sympa- 
thy, and true kindness. His letters from his new 
home abound with accounts of the satisfaction 
which he found in his new field. According to 
his custom, he seemed to enter into the pursuits 
and industrial peculiarities of the locality of his 
residence for the time being. When in the rich 
valley of the State, he rejoiced over the rich clover 
lands and teeming wheat-fields ; when in Ports- 
mouth he speaks with great interest of the vast 
vegetable productions of the neighborhood, raised 
for the Northern markets. In writing to a friend 
in the upper country, he says : 

" Spring has opened upon us in all its varied beauty of forest 
field, and garden vegetation. It is expected that green peas 
will be sent from the farms in our vicinity to the Northern mar- 
kets by the end of this week, (May 4.) The spectacle presented 
by a farm of this description would, I presume, be novel to you, 



70 MEMOIR OF BEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

and is most grateful to the eye. Acres upon acres of pea-vines, 
clad in their peculiarly bright livery, and thickly dotted with 
their snowy blossoms, or of strawberry- vines, similarly adorned, 
present the most agreeable suggestions to more than one of the 
senses. It would probably surprise a citizen of the midland and 
upper portion of the State to learn to what an extent our agricul- 
tural community are embarked in this species of enterprise, and 
how rapidly, under this new mode of culture, this comparatively 
sterile section of the commonwealth is developing resources, not 
merely of sustenance, but of enrichment for its cultivators. The 
critical season, when crops and fortunes are made or lost in this 
business, is the period of the ensuing three months — after the 
middle of July, the season of the last of the great crops, tomatoes 
will have passed. Our farmers are now trembling, from day to 
day, l inter spemque metumque,' in regard to the safety of the lat- 
ter. The tomato plants have all been removed from the genial 
air of the hot-bed and set in open field, and for two nights 
past there has been a slight frost. A heavy one would destroy 
the hopes of the cultivator, and would probably cut off, likewise, 
all the present flattering anticipations in regard to the early tree- 
fruits, particularly peaches, which ripen here in the first week of 
July. I ought to add that we denizens of the soil are, Tantalus- 
like, placed up to our necks amid a plenty of which we are denied 
the taste — at least the first taste. The first fruits of each crop are 
boxed and barrelled up, anul transmitted with an express dispatch 
to the commercial metropolis of the Union, to regale the pampered 
palates of her princes. Of course our region is not first in the 
race — Charleston furnishes peas two weeks, and the Bermudas 
tomatoes two months in advance of us. But we form an import- 
ant link in the succession of contributors of unseasonable luxuries. 
"I find, my dear sir, that I have nearly filled my little sheet 
with nothing — nothing worthy of recording — nothing upon the 



CONVENTION IN WHEELING, 1853. 71 

great and precious theme of our common salvation. But I am not 
forgetful of your present joy and peace in believing. Often, very 
often, do I rejoice in spirit with you and for you. I shall be 
happy, indeed, if this nugatory sheet shall have the effect of 
drawing from you a refreshing communication upon the good 
things of that spiritual feast which affords the undying soul re- 
sources for 'delighting itself in fatness.' It is said that St. Je- 
rome used to exact of one of his friends that he should write, at 
short intervals, though it were only to inform him that he had 
nothing to write — and it is from a conviction of the importance of 
intercourse to securing the benefits of friendship and maintaining 
its sacred bond, rather than because I had any thing worth com- 
municating, that I have now written; regretting what I have 
lost by my neglect to keep up correspondence with one whom 
I very greatly desire to see face to face." 

This desire, which was truly reciprocated by 
his correspondent, was gratified "unexpectedly in 
about three weeks thereafter. The Annual Con- 
vention of Virginia was to sit, for the year 1853, 
in "Wheeling. The great work of extending the 
Baltimore and Ohio Eailroad to that place, over 
the Alleghanies, had been recently finished. The 
proposal was made that he should come by his 
old home in Berkeley, and they should go together 
to this gathering of the clerical and lay delegates 
of the Church, which in Virginia is always re- 
garded as a joyous and holy convocation. The 
distance, the expense, the absence from his family 



72 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

and flock, were all obstacles to be overcome, and 
his correspondent hardly hoped to carry out the 
plan ; when one day Mr. Chisholm arrived, after 
three years' absence, at his house — not only with 
his needful luggage for the journey, from the ex- 
treme south-east corner of the State to the extreme 
north-west point — but with a basket of green peas, 
strawberries, and cherries, fresh from the Ports- 
mouth gardens, a present which he brought in his 
hands for the family of his friend, and with his 
happy, beaming countenance of friendly greeting, 
more welcome than the fruits or flowers of May. 
They together passed over the grand scenery on 
the route, held much happy converse together in 
the hospitable city of "Wheeling, came back in a 
week, with the resolution that for the future duty 
should combine with pleasure on every recurring 
season of the Convention to bring them once a 
year together, a resolution carried out in 1854 at 
Lynchburg, and in 1855 at Lexington — alas! how 
little thought to be the last of these blessed re- 
unions. 

His letter on his return is dated: 

" Portsmouth, May 25, 1853. 
"My Dear Mr. ft: Here I am again in the land of tameness 
and sameness ; no rocks, no stones, no mountain's nodding brow, 



LETTER TO THE AUTHOR. 73 

no dells, no slopes, and consequently no welling springs nor 
brawling brooks. The transition from the scenes of enchantment, 
and of sublimity at times too terrific for enjoyment, is much like 
the awakening from a dream. Our swamp-oaks and fig-bushes 
don't help me much in the effort mentally to live over again each 
scene of the last eight or ten days. Dr. Baird, the celebrated 
lecturer on Europe, whilst delivering his course in our midst a 
few months ago, called the attention of his audience to the rather 
remarkable fact that the regions of greatest natural sublimity 
in Europe had not developed the imaginations and genius of their 
human denizens in a degree proportionate to their supposed power 
over the mind. He contrasted the intellectual achievements of 
Holland and the Netherlands with those of Switzerland. The 
dyked marshes of the former have nourished more celebrities of 
the very first magnitude, than the awe-inspiring glories of the 
latter. I am inclined to conclude that the good Doctor, in com- 
miseration of the unrelieved flatness of this our Holland, stated 
the paradox in the strongest allowable form. 

"After your departure on Monday night the whole company 
fell into a stupid, droning condition, not at all so interesting as a 
regular hearty slumber, and from this state of inanity we all 
aroused, almost simultaneously, to find ourselves in the outskirts 
of Baltimore, under a steady, drenching rain. My stirring old 
friend, Mr. G-., and myself, after having taken an hour or two of 
rest, sallied forth from Bamum's to take the tour of the city in an 
omnibus. This we tried for two or three trips, and then we con- 
cluded it to be the best philosophy to go home and give up the 
exploration of the city, in the midst of a pelting rain, as a bad 
job ; so, after having devoted a while *to the examination of some 
of the novelties of the place, we awaited the departure of tho 
Norfolk boat. Amongst other interesting edifices, we visited Dr- 
A.'s now and gorgeous Gothic structure, Grace Church, where wo 
found neither piscina, sedilia, nor stalls. I retain a most delight- 
7 



74 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

ful impression of the scenes and the influences of our recent Con- 
vention. Not only was it good to be there, but it is now felt to 
be good and profitable for the future to have been there. Believe 
me to be, in Christian regard and fellowship, 

(i Yours, James Chisholm." 

In a letter to a brother-in-law lie refers to the 
same romantic ride oyer the mountain railroad, in 
this visit. The first sentence refers to a most in- 
teresting exhibition of kindness and deep feeling 
among his parishioners at the North Mountain 
depot, near Hedgesville. The train usually stops 
but for a moment ; but his old Mount Zion friends 
had gathered there to meet him. He was forced 
to leave the cars to return their greetings, the kind 
conductor actually postponing, for some five or ten 
minutes, to allow of this, his warning word, " All 
aboard !" 

"Portsmotjth, May 30, 1853. 

11 My Dear J : I parted with you ' mid scenes of confusion' 

occasioned by the simultaneous rush of departing and coming 
guests at the depot. We went on to Cumberland that afternoon, 
arriving there at half-past four. Thus we had two or three hours 
for recreation in one of the most pleasant and picturesque of towns. 

Mr. C and I strolled up to the new Episcopal Church, very 

beautiful both as to commanding situation and as to structure ; but 
fitted up in the interior with semi-Popish arrangements. We were 
all roused at half-past two, but did not get fairly started until sun- 
rise. Thus we had the full advantage of beholding the sublime 



INCIDENTS. 75 

scenery which begins to open upon us very soon after leaving 
Cumberland. I could not pretend to describe to you the terrific- 
ally sublime line of march which we then pursued for hours from 
one steep to another of the Alleghanies, passing through some 
fifteen tunnels, cut through solid rock, winging our perilous way 
over those fearful bridges of tressle work, and involuntarily hold- 
ing in our breath, as we severally realized the words of David, 
'There is but a step between me and death.' * * * * I can 
not tell you my singular impressions on first beholding the beau- 
tiful Ohio, some dozen miles this side of Wheeling. I did not till 
then realize that I was in the Great Yalley. With the city 
of Wheeling I was greatly delighted. It is manifestly destined 
to go ahead of any thing in Virginia. There is a life, a spirit, an 
efficiency of movement and action that you see nowhere else 
within the State. It contains a number of interesting manufac- 
tories which I visited. Its suspension bridge is a magnificent ob- 
ject. Not the least interesting objects about Wheeling are her 
splendid line of steamers plying to Cincinnati and Louisville. 
They surpass the boats on the Atlantic waters. An acquaintance 

of former days, Mr. C B , formerly of Martinsburg, who 

has a personal interest in this line (and who was very attentive 

to Mr. and myself) was so generous as to offer me a trip 

down the Ohio to Louisville and Cincinnati, and nothing but the 
fact that I had an engagement to be at home to conduct a mar- 
riage by the middle of the following week prevented my cordial 
acceptance of an offer which would have yielded so much gratifi- 
cation. I was very hospitably entertained at the house of Mr. 

, former Mayor of Wheeling. The citizens were profuse and 

generous in their attentions to us, and the Convention passed off 
in the pleasantest, happiest manner." 



76 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 



CHAPTER IX. 

From May, 1853, to May, 1854 — Lynchburg Convention — Death 
of his Wife — Lines on the Same — Letter to his Brother-in-Law. 

The year from May, 1853, to May, 1854, passed 
in the midst of the performance of pastoral duties 
— in the enjoyment of that domestic bliss of which 
no man was ever more susceptible. His intercourse 
with his children was peculiarly interesting. 

In May, 1854, he attended the Annual Conven- 
tion, held then at Lynchburg. The expected visit 
of a brother made it difficult for him to effect this ; 
but again were his friends gladdened with the sight 
of him. The friend who writes this recalls with 
saddened pleasure the hours then spent in his com- 
pany, the arrangements by which they contrived to 
take each meal together, sometimes by positive 
breaches of a first invitation, that they might ac- 
cept a second one where both were invited to the 
same house. The walks in the environs of that 
thriving and opulent city, the view from the ad- 
jacent heights, the peaks of Otter, and the long 



DEATH OF HIS WIFE. 77 

reaches of the James river, and the intervening 
steep thoroughfares of Lynchburg. His ardent 
love of travel amidst wild scenery induced him, 
with many other of his brethren, to accept of an in- 
vitation to go on an excursion, west, upon the 
Tennessee railroad ; so that the friends parted in 
Lynchburg, not to meet until next year in Lex- 
ington, before which time a sad bereavement had 
fallen upon him. His faithful, loving wife was, 
after a lingering illness, taken from him. His 
countenance had lost its original brightness. It 
seemed to say : 

" Oh ! never, never, never more on me the freshness of the heart shall fall 
like dew." 

The following beautiful lines seem applicable 
all to him: the first stanza applying to the happy, 
beaming, but chastened Christian joy, visible in 
him at Lynchburg ; the second, when he visited 
Lexington, in May, 1855 ; the last, to the dark 
hour when mourning over that son whose dying 
words he was not permitted to hear. He stood 
like a soldier in a forlorn hope, ready for death, 
but steadfast to his duty : 

" One morning as we wended 

Through a path bedight with flowers, 
Where all delights were blended 
To beguile the fleeting hours, 

7* 



78 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

4 Sweet youth, pray turn thee hither,' 

Said a voice along the way, 
4 Ere all these roses wither, 

And these fair fruits decay.' 
But the youth paused not to ponder 

If the voice were good or ill, 
For, said he, my home is yonder 
O'er the hill there, o'er the hill. 

" Again, high noon was glowing 

O'er a wide and weary plain, 
And there, right onward going 

Was the traveller again. 
He seemed another being 

Than the morning's rosy youth ; 
But I quickly knew him, seeing 

His unaltered brow of truth. 
' Rest, straDger, rest till even,' 

Sang alluring voices still ; 
But he cried, ' My rest is heaven, 

O'er the hill there, o'er the hill.' 

" The shades of night were creeping 

A sequestered valley o'er, 
Where a dark, deep stream was sweeping 

By a dim and silent shore ; 
And there the pilgrim, bending 

With the burden of the day, 
Was seen still onward wending, 

Through ' a strait and narrow way.' 
He passed the gloomy river 

As it were a gentle rill, 
And rested — home for ever, 

O'er the hill there, o'er the hill !" 

We subjoin extracts from his letters, dated 
about the last of February and the month of 
March, showing how this Christian lady, the ob- 



LETTEES ON THE DEATH OF HIS WIFE. 79 

ject of the love of so many hearts — the second self 
of the devoted husband, met the last enemy. The 
annals of our holy religion abound with many ex- 
amples of the power of faith over death. The cir- 
cumstances are detailed generally by those whose 
professed adherence to truth is solemnized by the 
feelings of the occasion. "We may be satisfied that 
nothing in the following details is exaggerated. 

Can the skeptic tell us how, upon a mere delu- 
sion, such a power can be given to a shrinking, 
delicate, timid woman? Or if it be owing to 
strength of conviction of the truth of religion, why 
can not the same strength of conviction of its falsity, 
on his part, enable the skeptic so to meet death ? 
Death is the great mystery of our being. Hume, 
Gibbon, Voltaire, and Paine, and others of their 
school, professed to have solved this riddle. So 
does the Christian. The hour of death is the ex- 
perimentum cruris. Which of them believes in 
their solution when the test is applied — when the 
honest hour cometh ? 

To Mrs. M. Chisholm, Salem. 

"Portsmouth, Wednesday, March 1th, 1855. 
"My Dear Sister: Your soothing and sympathizing letters 
came to me in this morning's mail. I doubt not you are already 



80 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

apprised that the day on which I wrote yon, Tuesday, the 2Tth, 
proved to be the day of the greatest calamity of my life. I sent 
yon by mail on Saturday last, an obituary in the column of a 
daily paper. I now forget what I said in my last letter : indeed, 
most of what transpired during those last solemn days, except in 
the death-chamber, has faded from my memory. Oh ! it was a 
death-scene never to be forgotten by even the most casual or care- 
less spectator. It was that miracle of the moral world ; the triumph 
of sanctified human nature over its last, its great, its terrible 
foe — Death. The unruffled calmness of that triumph ! It was 
not a closing of the eyes, and a forced insensibility of the mind 
to any even of the most terrific aspects of death. It was a se- 
rene and fixed eyeing of the foe, and more than a conquest over 
him, through the might and grace of a present Redeemer. Not 
an expression savored of even a momentary obliviousness of 
what was before her ; not even a gesture or look indicated aught 
of the nature of excitement. Whilst not one of her family or 
numerous and attached friends could command composure, or 
find relief for their uncontrollable emotions otherwise than in 
tears and suppressed sobs, she was all the while, though un- 
dergoing intense and various physical suffering, perfectly unruf- 
fled, the only composed one, the only glad and happy one, 
amid a circle of broken-spirited mourners. Nor was her reason 
clouded even for one instant. The last respiration, and its ac- 
companying slight and momentary convulsive movement of the 
features, found her equally conscious in mind, collected in spirit, 
and happy in her soul. But what was the secret of her blessed 
composure ? "Was it aught akin to consciousness of having acted 
well her part in life ? No ! far from it. Never did I witness a 
more deep and painful consciousness of unworthiness and un- 
profitableness before her G-od and Judge. But it was her perfect 
and unhesitating confidence in the efficacy of the blood of Jesus 



LETTEES ON THE DEATH OF HIS WIFE. 81 

Christ to cleanse each believer from all sins : it was this which 
constituted the secret of her glorious triumph. How often, and 
with what emphasis, would she repeat those precious words 
which embrace the whole theme of God's message to man : ' The 
blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sins.' On Tuesday, lean- 
ing over her and applying my lips to her ear, I was privileged to 
enjoy a last full and free and confidential conversation with her, 
in which we reviewed rapidly the stages of our alas ! too brief 
union on earth ; spoke of the little ones, engaged audibly together 
in a brief and earnest prayer for them, and commendation of 
their case, and especially their spiritual interests, to the great 
Friend and Defender of these orphaned ones ; then talked briefly 
together of the brief intervening future on earth, and matters of 
domestic interest and care, and also of the final and endless fu- 
ture in heaven, of which the moment of our expected reunion 
would constitute the first blissful moment. Then, as if nothing 
now remained but to announce the dissolution of the conditions 
of our earthly union, she pointed to her bridal-ring and asked me 
with regard to it : What disposal I would prefer to make of it ? 
In reply I expressed a desire that she would indicate its disposal. 
She then inquired if I would be willing to wear it. On my ex- 
pressing a desire to do so, she calmly drew it from her wasted 
finger and placed it upon my own ; there to remain, in all proba- 
bility, until the arrival of that blessed day wherein, God's grace 
helping me, we shall meet, no more to be sundered." 



To Joseph Chisholm. 

"Portsmouth, March 8, 1855. 
"My Dear Brother: This the severest of all domestic afflic- 
tions, is the first that has cast a shadow on my pathway. From 



82 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

the stunning effects of the blow, I feel that I have not yet 
awakened to the full and awful realization of my case. My dear 
and affectionate sisters-in-law, who had been summoned to 
Jane's sick bed-side, and had been in constant ministrations to 
her sufferings, whilst their cheerful countenances had cheered 
and animated my home, remained until two days since ; and, 
meantime, Frazer came on last Friday morning, and remained 
with me likewise until two days since. The companionship of 
these loved ones soothed and beguiled our sorrows. Domestic 
affairs have now, for the first time for more than two months, 
subsided into the ordinary quiet channel. Each home-habit and 
pccurrence now holds its wonted way. The merry laugh and the 
short fleet step of the little boys, as usual ring through the 
house. But where is now the gentle, genial, all-pervading influ- 
ence of the centre of all home's delights and charities ? The 
household's rallying point; its attractive and tenderly uniting 
band — where is she ? One sudden, mighty surge has swept over 
us, and the quiet which ensues in its wake is that of its own des- 
olating power. But, dear brother, do not suspect me of forget- 
ting the source of my calamity, and the great and manifold and 
blessed designs with which it has been sent upon me. I, who 
have taught others the highest lessons of Christian attainment, 
should have complete, childlike, humble submission to the Divine 
Will. I am now sitting as a learner in the school of that great 
and good Master, who has Himself drained the cup of human 
woe to its last fearful dregs, so that we might only taste it, and 
tasting it, learn to turn to that other cup, that cup of refreshment, 
which his other hand presents — even the cup of the waters of 
life. I do most fervently pray, that I may neither on the one 
hand despise — treat lightly — this chastening of the Lord ; nor on 
the other hand, be weary or faint when I am rebuked of Him. 
I know, I feel that it is because He loves that He chastens : that 



LETTERS OK THE DEATH OF HIS WIFE. 83 

the loving corrections of my covenant G-od are any thing but 
an indication of His disfavor, although a solemn summons to in- 
creased diligence and concentration of soul, in laboring for His 
glory, and working out my own salvation. ' Lord, Thou didst 
give,' and Thou hast resumed Thy own hallowed gift. Oh! 
crowning mercy, I trust that Thou art enabling me to respond in 
this hour of bereavement, and not less than in the hour of happy 
possession : ' Blessed be the name of the Lord.' Soul-refreshing 
were the manifestations of tiie power and grace of G-od our Sa- 
viour, in that death chamber. Such calm composure in announc- 
ing that she was about to take leave of us ; such faithful and ap- 
propriate remarks and Christian counsels to every one of her 
family, and friends and acquaintances, who drew near to her bed- 
side ; such blessed and unwavering confidence in her acceptance 
and salvation, through faith in the merits and blood of her Re- 
deemer, whose acquaintance she had formed in the bright day of 
youth and health, and who revealed Himself now as a precious 
and tried foundation on which to rest her fainting and sinking 
soul — I never saw. It was a miracle of grace and love. In- 
tense and unintermitted as were her sufferings, she testified the 
greatest delight in every devotional exercise. And we sang 
around her bed frequently, during the last two days. When the 
hymn, 'How firm a foundation,' was sung, she joined, herself, in 
a clear, firm, sweet voice, throughout the closing verse: 'The 
soul that to Jesus hath fled for repose.' Other hymns that were 
sung to the very joy of her heart, were : ' Jesus, Saviour of my 
soul,' the popular hymn, ' Just as I am,' ' All is well,' ' Asleep in 
Jesus.' Often did she quote and apply to her own case, ' The 
Dying Christian to his Soul,' 'Vital spark of heavenly flame.' 
Often did she exclaim: 'The world recedes, it disappears: 
Heaven opens on my eyes ; my ears with sounds seraphic ring.' 
About an hour before her Saviour dismissed her ransomed spirit 



84 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

from its companionship with its clay tenement, she inquired of 
me, with the most perfect calmness and deliberation : ' Is there 
such a thing as having too strong and full a confidence in the 
atoning blood of Jesus V I replied that there was not, and after 
a few observations, inquired : ' Do you feel such a confidence ?' 
'Oh! yes!' she exclaimed, uttering each word with emphasis, 'a 
perfect confidence.' But the most touching of all the scenes I have 
ever witnessed, w T as her parting Tyith her children, after having had 
them summoned into her room, about twenty-four hours before her 
death. Words that ought to be graven with an iron pen on the 
rocks for ever, did she utter with her wonted calmness to dear 
little Willie, and so adapted to his comprehension that he under- 
stood each word. For such a mother to take a long and delibe- 
rate farewell without one particle of rising emotion, was an act 
to which only the grace of God, through Christ strengthening 
her, could have fortified her soul. The death-chamber was truly 
bright with opening gleams of promised heaven. With her whom 
we mourn, the worst is past. The worst ? Nay ; all of evil, and 
trouble, and sorrow, that constituted her burden is for ever merged, 
lost, annihilated, in the unfathomed depths of that ocean — Redeem- 
ing Love. To her as a disciple of Jesus, life brought its severe, 
though comparatively brief, discipline of suffering and chastise- 
ment. The period of our union, every day of which was to me 
bright and genial, and happy as that of any husband ever was ; 
made so by the attractive energy of her affection, and by the 
rare moral symmetry and beauty of her character; that period 
was to her alas ! largely dashed with suffering, the more grievous, 
doubtless, to her because of her ingenious and too successful ef- 
forts to conceal it from those she would fain spare all solicitude 
in regard to herself. She was a matured Christian when I first 
became acquainted with her. The spirit of her Master lived, and 
breathed, and loved, in all she designed, or said, or did. 



LETTERS ON THE DEATH OF HIS WIFE. 85 

" If you knew the consolations your letters afford me, dear 
brother and sister, you would write frequently. 

" Affectionately, James." 



To his Sister-in-law. 

" Portsmouth, March 22, 1855. 
" My Beloved Sister : I wish you knew how refreshing were 
your own and dear Mrs. Cushing's letters to me. They were 
truly answers to my own troubled spirit. Coming from those 
who have experienced grief, and have not in vain sought for the 
rich and exhaustless consolation of which a compassionate Sav- 
iour is the source, I realize that it is in mercy, not in wrath, 
that He is now dealing with me. I perceive that there is a 
'need be,' that I am in heaviness through tribulation. 'As 
many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.' I feel that hitherto the 
unruffled current of my life had not presented this indication of 
Divine parental relationship, namely, chastisement. Time, indeed, 
brings no abatement of sorrow ; discloses constantly new sources 
of mental suffering and disquietude, on account of my exceeding 
great loss. But the most gracious word of promise and invitation 
comes home to my soul with a heaven-sent solace for each rising 
sorrow. I am brought nearer to my Saviour. It is as though I 
had hitherto heard of Him (whom I trust I can say my soul lov- 
eth) by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth Him. 
Eternity casts its solemn lights and shadows more distinctly over 
the relations past, present, and future of time. I range mentally 
over the past, the few happy, happy years in which, as compa- 
nions in life's journey, with literally but one heart, one mind, one 
common current of sympathies, attachments, tastes, hopes, en- 
8 



86 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

joymerits, (for sure never was there between two beings more 
entire congeniality;) and I thank Him who gave us each to the 
other ; I thank Him for the refined and ceaseless happiness which 
her cherished companionship inspired; I thank Him for the beau- 
tiful example of child-like faith in my Redeemer, and of cheerful 
acquiescence in each allotment of providence which the intimacy 
of a oneness of existence between us afforded me day by day. 
She was more than a helper to me in each walk of life. She was, 
rather by silent, winning, and eloquent example, than by words, 
my faithful Mentor. And this was God's most merciful bestow- 
ment — not only crowning those years with the highest boons 
of earthly bliss, but promoting my soul's welfare for eternity. 
She was a mature Christian when my acquaintance with her 
commenced." 

In a letter to a lady, in Shepherdstown — a con- 
nection of his wife, and a very dear friend — dated 
Feb. 27, 1855, the day of her death, he writes : 
"Dear, dear Jane is at the point of dissolution, en- 
tirely conscious of her situation. All is peace — all 
is peace. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth 
from all sin. The serene composure of heaven 
irradiates her countenance." On the next day, 
Feb. 28 : " Her departure took place, perfectly 
serene and tranquil, about ten o'clock last night. 
She was conscious to the latest breath, and passed 
away without a struggle. The last utterance of 
her lips was: ' Yes, a perfect confidence.' " 

Upon the death of Mrs. Chisholm some of his 



LETTEES ON THE DEATH OF HIS WIFE. 87 

parishioners paid all the expenses incident to the 
funeral, and handed him the receipted bills. This 
delicate attention was responded to in the follow- 
ing letter : 

"How shall I give expression, my beloved parishioners, ac- 
quaintances, and friends, to my sense of your unparalleled tender- 
ness, assiduity, sympathy, and generosity towards me and mine, 
throughout the protracted stages of suffering by which my great 
calamity was preceded ? And when, at length, all that a soli- 
citude no less than brotherly and sisterly could suggest and de- 
vise, proved unavailing ; and the tabernacle that had enshrined 
her spirit whom you loved so well lay prostrate and tenantless? 
then your generous cares were lavished upon those mortal remains 
to a degree that overpowered me ! 

"I most fervently pray, and shall continue so to do whilst I 
have breath to pray, ' The Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have 
dealt with the dead and with me!' c The Lord give mercy unto 
your households, for ye have oft refreshed me.' ' The Lord grant 
unto you that ye may find mercy of the Lord in that day.' " 



88 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 



CHAPTEE X. 

Pestilence in Portsmouth and Norfolk — Journal of Evonts for the 
First Month. 

We come now to the fearful scourge that came 
down upon the devoted cities of Portsmouth and 
Norfolk, in the summer and autumn of 1855. 

We have lingered around the threshold of this 
topic — we dread to lift the pall — we are pained to 
renew the griefs of that awful visitation. 

But it is better to go to the house of mourning 
than to the house of feasting, for that is the end of 
all men. The heart of the wise is in the house of 
mourning. We all have to mourn, and we may 
not, all, feast and rejoice. Let us recall these days 
of darkness, then ; not with any wish to open up 
old wounds, to revive forgotten sorrows, but to 
exhibit the utter helplessness of man, the fearful 
fragility of his mortal body, the impotency of 
youth, and health, and riches, and station, to avert 



PESTILENCE IN PORTSMOUTH 89 

the arrow that flieth by day, the pestilence that 
walketh in darkness, the sickness that wasteth at 
noon-day ; but to exhibit him, at the same fearful 
hour, rising above fear — looking beyond the grave 
— defying these arrows in the strength of a high 
and holy trust — and calmly fulfilling the noblest 
duties of humanity, amidst squalor, dying groans, 
mortal terrors, and the last offices to the pestilen- 
tial corpse. This brightening up of God's undy- 
ing image, in his fallen creature, comes from a 
light which shines through the sepulchre. It first 
was lit up, on that memorable resurrection morn, 
succeeding the last typical passover, in Joseph of 
Arimathea's " own new tomb;" it has ever since, 
through that open sepulchre, cast forth its heaven- 
derived radiance along a bright but narrow path. 
Blessed is the man that cometh to that Light. 

We have no desire to follow in the tfack of 
Boccacio, or Defoe, or Pepys. We have no right 
to assume the office of historian of the Yellow 
Fever at Gosport, Portsmouth, and Norfolk, in the 
summer and autumn of 1855. 

We were not eye-witnesses to the same, but Mr. 
Ohisholm was. He never left the spot until he 
was carried to his grave, about the 11th of Sep- 
tember. He was besides a voluntary sojourner 
8* 



90 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

there. He was urged to fly, as thousands of his 
neighbors did. He approved of their doing so, in 
his benign and charitable estimate of others, while 
he positively, and upon reasons assigned, chose 
himself to remain. It is due to his memory that 
these reasons should be given — hence I publish 
his journal from the 27th day of July to the 11th 
of August, inclusive, and follow it up with his 
letters, subsequent to the day of his being seized 
himself. These details are needful ; they may 
peradventure, in some cases renew sorrow, but 
they are never calculated to produce pain or 
shame. Certainly the reader will see that they 
were never so intended by the amiable narra- 
tor. If, however, there should be a sentence 
or an allusion calculated to do so, it has es- 
caped the eye of the author, who has been com- 
pelled, #>y professional engagements, to prepare 
the narrative irregularly, out of continuity, and 
with many interruptions. He prays forgiveness 
and a kind construction of his motives, in limine. 
A History of the Plague will be sought for here- 
after. Should not such authentic data as we can 
give be laid out for the future annalist of that 
dark and desolating pestilence ? 



JOURNAL OF EVENTS. 91 



JOURNAL OF EVENTS. 

Friday, July 21. — On my arrival in Portsmouth the afternoon 
of the day I parted with you all at the depot in Petersburg, I 
learned that Mrs. M. had just died at the Crawford House. At 
dead of night on Thursday night, two gentlemen went from Mr. 
McFadden's sick chamber in quest of me, and not finding me, 
called on Mr. Hume, who had very satisfactory interviews with 
the dying man. The funeral, which took place at sunset, within 
three hours of dissolution, was the only one which has been fol- 
lowed by a procession of carriages. Throughout his illness, by 
day and by night, Mr. M. received every attention from the young 
gentlemen of Portsmouth. The weather is intensely sultry ; the 
moon-light nights lovely. You know that it is not a week since 
public attention was awakened to the existence of yellow fever 
in G-osport. This evening Mr. H. gave permission to the removal 
of Mr. and Mrs. G-. to his farm-house. 

Saturday, July 28. — It is reported that a corpse, uncoffined, 
was found this morning as late as *l o'clock, in the Roman Catho- 
lic church-yard ; the body of some member of that church who 
died over night, and whose friends were determined that it should 
be buried in consecrated ground. But this is against the town 
laws. In this state of things a portion of Portlock's Cemetery is 
appropriated to the future interment of Roman Catholics who may 
die of the disease. The poor Irish girl at Captain L.'s, who had 
lost one of her family, has now lost them all, and is alone in the 
world. Moreover, having gone over to G-osport in the midst of 

the infection, it is not deemed safe by the L s to receive her 

back into their family. But Captain L. is making great exertions 
to secure some place for a nightly shelter to this and another poor 
Irish girl similarly situated. Until ten o'clock at night they wero 
roaming about the streets, as many of their countrymen and wo- 



92 MEMOIR OF KEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

men have been doing for several nights. At last a temporary 
refuge is obtained for these girls in the Academy for two nights. 
Sunday, July 29. — Very early in the morning it is discovered 
that several of the Irish from Gosport are hanging about the 
Academy inclosure. Soon a gathering of citizens from various 
quarters takes place, and the excitement occasioned by the ap- 
prehension that the Academy is to become a rendezvous for mem- 
bers from the seat of infection, become so great that the Irish all 
leave the spot, and the Academy becomes closed up again. How- 
ever, these poor creatures received every humane attention, and 
good food and clean clothing come in to them in abundance from 
various families in this and the neighboring streets. Not having 
articles of food in the house myself, I handed Mrs. P. $1 to be 
appropriated to their relief. The pest-house, temporarily con- 
structed out in the vicinity of Portlock Cemetery, and upon which 
many of our citizens have been working day and night for the 
past forty-eight hours, is completed and made ready for the re- 
ception of sufferers. But now, behold, unlooked-for difficulties 
arise and threaten to defeat the wise and benevolent plan of re- 
moval. In the first place, the wretched and squalid patients in 
Irish Row positively refused to abandon their pestilential abodes. 
These, in number between three hundred and four hundred, reek- 
ing in nameless abomination of filth and stench, and exhibiting 
in their conduct towards one another a hard-heartedness of which 
we would not have dared to believe human nature capable under 
such circumstances, revelling and fighting and quarrelling amongst 
the dying and over the dead — they refuse to stir. It became 
necessary shortly before service-time to send away for their priest, 
Mr. D., to come among them and use such authority for this end 
as his official relation gave him over them. This difficulty being 
adjusted, and their consent to go being obtained by mingled ec- 
clesiastical promises and fulminations, new trials present them- 



JOURNAL OF EVENTS. 93 

selves. Neither the vehicles nor hands to assist in lifting in the 
patients and driving them over to the new pest-house can be ob- 
tained on any consideration. Thus the day wears away, and I 
never saw a more disheartened band of men than our physicians. 
Monday, July 30. — Applications having been renewedly made 
by the physicians in every direction, and steadily and flatly re- 
fused by the alarmed citizens, they finally, to-day, have to employ 
their own servants and carts. After numberless difficulties had 
been encountered and successively obviated, the removal of the 
great body of the patients from Irish Row, took place this morn- 
ing. The creatures were actually unwilling to help one another — 
the well, the invalids — and the physicians and Mr. D. together, 
assisted most of them into the carts. A most melancholy spec- 
tacle is the removal, under the noon-day heat of an almost tropic- 
al sun. Nine carts were filled with sufferers, in some cases two 
in a cart, lying prostrate ; in others, three or four sitting. Their 
agonized faces and their piteous groans awakened mingled horrors 
and compassion. Even after they had been there transferred, these 
unfortunates became discontented and unruly, and in one instance, 
at least, actually escaped to town, hiding no one knows where. 
Between 11 o'clock and 1, I was engaged in going the rounds 
among my people in Newtown and G-osport. Found all perfectly 
well, though some were in the midst of pestilence and death. The 
R- — s were on the borders of the ill-fated district. They were 
dejected and undecided what to do. Their beautiful floral garden, 
flaunting a gayety and glory of colors and forms which seem to 
mock the human misery around, had ceased to afford complacency 

to the enthusiastic horticulturist. Thence went over to S 's. 

In the same block, now abandoned by all but themselves, there had 
been, the previous week, disease and death. On the opposite side 
of the narrow street was the house tenanted by Mrs. K. and her 
family, and Mr. G-., her son-in-law ; the latter and Mrs. K \a 



94 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

two daughters very sick, (within forty-eight hours after, they all 
three died.) Mrs. S., so busy in her culinary preparations below 
stairs that she did not hear my knock for some time. Her doors 
and windows facing the sick houses, all closed. She tells me they 
can not remove ; that they have taken every precaution in the 
use of disinfectants, etc., and that she trusts that God will preserve 
them in the midst of danger, or prepare them for His holy will, 
which contingency she seems desirous to meet in a Christian 
spirit. As I left the house, Mr. S. came home from the yard to din- 
ner, well and cheerful. I begged them to apprise me in case they 
should be taken sick. To-day and yesterday have been dismal 
days in our community. The angel of death is, as it were, hover- 
ing in mid-air over our two towns, waiting the divine mandate, 
to deal around pestilence and death ; for to-day the alarming dis- 
covery is made that seventeen cases have broken out in one vi- 
cinity on Water street, in Norfolk. I can not describe the ap- 
pearance of the streets at this intelligence, or the dejected and 
panic-stricken appearance of the inhabitants. But as yet there is 
no evidence that the uneasiness of the public mind has exerted a 

disturbing influence upon business. One store only, Mr. M 's 

dry goods store has been closed, and thus far every case reported 
has been traced to the one locality in Gosport as its source. 
This morning I called upon Mrs. M., who is staying at Mr. W.'s. 

Tuesday, July 31. — Early this morning three graves have been 
dug for those who had died in the night. The hands employed 
in digging became exhausted. To-day, about 2 P.M., a fine 
thunder-shower, after which the weather became much cooler, 
an agreeable contrast to the intense sultriness of the previous 
week. This morning the deputation of citizens who had been to 
"Washington to solicit the use of the Naval Hospital, returned, an- 
nouncing the successful result of their suit. The wife of Mr. F., 
who a few days ago had removed from the infected district to 



JOURNAL OF EVENTS. 95 

Xing street, is sick, but convalescent. Manifestly the excitement 
is subsiding. At 5 P.M., called on Mrs. 0., whom I found very 
well and cheerful. Whilst conversing upon the great calamity of 
the day she evinced her characteristic tranquillity and self-com- 
mand as well as considerate allowance for the timidity of those who 
could not control their fears, as Mr. M., who had left town. It is 
characteristic of her to be thoughtful for others. In the course of 
conversation she remarked that she had allotted to-morrow (Wed- 
nesday) to making a quantity of that powerful disinfectant, 
thieves' vinegar, for the supply of several of her friends who had 
requested it, her own former supply being well-nigh exhausted. 
She expressed her intention of sending me some to use in case of 
being called to attend in sick rooms. She then proceeded to nar- 
rate to me the tradition in regard to the origin of the name of this 
preparation. I took leave just as the Weldon train was entering 
Crawford street, and we indulged in some playful comment on 
the extreme timidity manifested by some of the passengers. Took 
tea with Mr. R. at Mr. W.'s last night. Near midnight the cap- 
tain of the Augusta in alarm left his wharf at N., and sailed away 
to Old Point. 

Wednesday, August 1. — Tery damp atmosphere, with fre- 
quent showers all day long. Mr. M., of Gosport, gunner, was 
carried over to the hospital, sick of the fever, (he did not survive 

his removal forty-eight hours.) At tidings of M 's sickness, 

his neighbor, R., took the alarm, and made arrangements for re- 
moving his family to Baltimore, having been warned by his 
physician that if he spent another night in Gosport it would be 
at the risk of his life. The Baltimore papers of Saturday even- 
ing, had notified that henceforward no one from Gosport would 
be received on the boats of the daily line. R., to his amazement, 
learned this prohibition just as he was about to take the boat. 
He sat down and wept bitterly, asking if they would require him 



96 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

and his to stay in Gosport and die. Then arousing to the con- 
viction that no time must be lost, he went and procured a wagon 
to take himself and family to a house about three miles from 
town, whose occupant had offered to board him, or rent him 
apartments. But scarcely had they got seated in the house, 
when the family began to give signs of the utmost alarm. After 
remaining an hour or so, and entirely failing to quell their ap- 
prehensions, he was obliged (the night had come on, and it was 
raining,) to look up some conveyance in the neighborhood for the 
removal of his family to town. "With some difficulty he succeed- 
ed, and they reached town after 9 o'clock at night, and sought 
and found shelter from the elements, and a hospitable reception, 
with a family of connection on Court street. A few days after- 
wards they left for Philadelphia. In the afternoon, funeral of 
old Gen. Hodges. P. M., called on Mr. and Mrs. S. At night, 

called on the L s. This afternoon, H., a German, of neat 

personal habits, and steady, excellent character, died of yel- 
low fever, and was buried. He resided back of Hugh street, 

between it and King street, in the vicinity of the F s and 

G s. Also, in the same vicinity, the police-officer is very 

sick, (he died in forty-eight hours.) 

Thursday, August 2. — This is a morning of frowning skies and 
dreary prospects. Coffins are being ordered before the deaths of 
patients. This morning, Mr. S. received from the hospital an or- 
der for three coffins at once, and a request to have two more in 
readiness within a few hours, as they would be inevitably re- 
quired. In several instances within the last few days, it has 
been found next to impossible to obtain persons to shroud the 
corpses, and lift them into the coffins. It is found equally im- 
practicable to procure any to assist in removing the sick from 
their homes to the hospital. This morning the family of H., (the 
German,) who died yesterday, consisting of his wife and daughter, 



JOUENAL OF EVENTS. 97 

sick with the fever, were carried from their house to tne cart by 
the physician and his brother, and the priest. No other aid could 
be obtained, though the opposite pavement was crowded with cu- 
rious spectators. Two little boys of the family yet remained at the 
now desolate home. The spectacle of these children sitting out 
on the pavement, after the removal of the family, was heart- 
touching. Mrs. H. and daughter lingered a few days, and died. 
There are daily new indications of the gradual shutting off of 
the various avenues of communication between this place and 
the rest of the country. On Tuesday, the decree of the Mayor 
of New-York was received, announcing that the Jamestown and 
Roanoke would no longer come to Norfolk, but touch at Old 
Point for exchange of freight, passengers, etc., on her way to 
and from Eichmond. Yesterday, Wednesday, the stage-coach 
running between Portsmouth and Elizabeth City, was arrested 
within ten miles of the latter place, and sent back with its load 
of passengers, the U. S. Mail alone being allowed to go to Eliza- 
beth City. New cases of fever are occurring in M -'s and 

B 's family. It now becomes palpably plain that the district 

inclosed by High, Crawford, King, and Middle streets, is an in- 
fected district. There is sickness all through it, and in part of 
Middle and County streets adjacent. To-day, a man has been 

employed to convey the sick to the hospital. He has W 's 

baggage-wagon, fitted up with bed and a canvas covering. He 
is driving like Jehu up and down the streets, smoking furiously, 
and. I am told, drinking inordinately. He has done a heavy 
day's work in this line. "When at night-fall he arrived with his 
last load at the hospital, he complained of feeling excessively 
fatigued, and the physician jocosely remarked to him that he 
himself would be the next one brought thither. And sure 
enough, the next morning, Friday, he was brought in, and on 

the next Monday night, died. Called at Mrs. E 's and 

9 



98 MEMOIR OF KEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

N 's and Mrs. G- 's. Court street is alive this afternoon 

with fires of tar. Very cool and damp evening. The disease is 
manifestly alarmingly on the increase. Among others who have 
been taken to-day to the hospital, are S. and his wife and child, 
whom I saw well on Monday. Streets at night begin to have a 
dreary appearance, nearly all the stores being closed by dark. 
Families and individuals have been leaving town for several days 
past, but there are growing indications of a wide-spread, uncon- 
trollable panic, and the ensuing days will probably witness a 
great exodus. 

Friday, August 3. — By day-break every part of tho town is 
astir. Hacks, carts, wheelbarrows, porters laden with trunks, 
valises, and boxes, and hastening as if for life, are seen in every 
street : whole families are seen in a body, threading their way 
with agitated countenances and hurried steps, each parent's arms 
laden with helpless children ; and by sun-rise the depot wharf 
presents a scene of crowded human life and personal effects, 
such as I have never before soon. Many hundreds left this morn- 
ing by the Richmond, and the other morning boats. The stream 
of migration which commenced this morning, continued all day 
long. At 8 a.m. the cars carry away their unwontedly large 
freight of human life. Throughout the day private conveyances 
are moving in every direction, and dray-loads of trunks and bag- 
gage. In the afternoon the Baltimore boat bears away its scores 
perhaps hundreds. It is estimated that two or three thousand in- 
habitants have already gone. The day is bright, beautiful, and 
cool. In the course of the day Mr. A. G-. died. A tragic tale 
has been the history of his family, for the past two weeks. His 
household consisted of himself and wife, his young son, and a 
married daughter with her husband, Mr. and Airs. G-. The latter 
had an infant only a fortnight old. They resided on Henry street, 
Gosport. The yellow fever broke out in Mrs. G- 's family 



JOUBNAL OF EVENTS. 99 

about the 20th. His son, and daughter, and son-in-law were 
taken sick. His sister, Mrs. J. D., of Southampton county, was 
residing with them. A cousin also, Mrs. J., came over from 
Portsmouth, on hearing of the indisposition of the family, to stay 
and minister among them. About Monday, the 23d, Mrs. 

G- 's son died. By Thursday, the 26th, Mr. and Mrs. G-. 

were added to the victims. At this stage, Mrs. D. fled, alarmed, 
by the cars, to her residence in the country, and a few days after 
was seized with yellow fever ; she was abandoned by every at- 
tendant and left to die alone. No one could be induced to en- 
shroud her remains, or to put them into a coffin for decent inter- 
ment. At length the corpse was hastily wrapped up in a blanket 
by the physician's servants and thus interred. Mrs. J., who had 
gone unsuspecting into danger, petitioned to be received again 
amongst the friends she had left ; but it was not deemed prudent 
to permit her to return. On Saturday morning, July 28, the 
family, now reduced to three persons, were conveyed to the farm 
house, tendered to their occupancy by Mr. H., where on Monday 
morning, 30th, Mrs. J. died. Mr. G-. continued to linger in a 
dying condition, until to-day. This evening he died. But for 
the ceaseless, self-sacrificing and heroic attention of their kins- 
man, Mr. Holliday, who has been with them the chief part of 
each day and night, their sufferings would have been more de- 
plorable than they were ; for it was impossible to procure, for 
money or any other consideration, the requisite nursing and at- 
tendance. [Mrs. G-., the last of the seven victims out of one 
house, was removed after her husband's death, on Saturday, to 
the hospital, where she expired on Monday, August 6. I saw 
her at the hospital on Saturday, but she was too ill to notice any 
one.] 

Saturday, August 4. — Yesterday afternoon I called to take 
leave of Mrs. P., when Miss B. mentioned to me Mrs. C 's in- 



100 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

disposition, and spoke of the suffering she experienced in her 
head. I made some allusion to the singular effects produced 
upon the system by the homoeopathic treatment. It seems that 
on Tuesday night, about 9 o'clock, (only three hour3 after my call,) 
Mrs. C, who had been sitting in the damp air for a considerable 
time, remarked that she felt a chilly sensation, and withdrew to 
substitute for her dress a thicker one. In the act of doing so, 
she had a decided chill, and immediately went to bed and sent 
for her physician. She continued indisposed, as she and the in- 
mates of the house all thought, but slightly, until Friday night. 
Last night at half-past ten, after I had undressed and as I was about 
to extinguish my light, a step was heard at my door. It was Mr. 
K., announcing to me that Mrs. C. was very ill of yellow fever, and 
there was no hope of her recovery. I found her very calm — per- 
fectly resigned to the will of God — placing her trust in the merits - 
of her Saviour ; she was suffering, occasionally vomiting. I pray- 
ed with her, and then returned home. About half-past one, I was 
again roused up to go and see her. She was probably aware of the 
nature of her disease, and had already intimated the day before 
to Miss B., that she had a presentiment of death. At this second 
visit she was constantly vomiting dark blood ; but she was still 
calm, and expressed the hope that she would soon be with Christ 
in glory. I reminded her of the promise : " Leave with me thy 
fatherless children." The servants who constantly attended her, 
bear witness to the lovely and uniform submission to the Lord's 
will which characterized her every utterance. She seemed fear- 
ful of even entertaining a thought other than "the will of the Lord 
be done." About an hour before her departure she remarked, 
whilst turning horself over in the bed : "I think I shall die now, 
in a short time;" and then immediately added, " But it is wrong 
for me to say so — I ought not to say so ; when the Lord pleases, 
is the right time : I desire only that the Lord's holy will be done." 



JOURNAL OF EVENTS. 101 

She desired her pious servant, Bichard, to pray with and for her. 
At her instance, a lady was sent for who had indulged a ground- 
less and wicked resentment towards her, and when she came, 
assured her that for herself she entertained no ill-feeling whatever, 
desired that if she had ever given occasion of offense to her, she 
would forgive it ; and then she proceeded in the sweetest, most 
persuasive tone, to exhort her to be converted and become a 
happy Christian, and thus be in readiness for the final summons, 
come when and how it might. Similiar language she used to 
other family connections w r ho called to see her. She lingered 
through Saturday, and expired on Sunday morning about three 
— just a year and twelve hours after her husband, a coincidence 
to which she herself adverted. Her interment took place at 2 
p.m. on Sunday. The burial service was pronounced by me, at 
the grave, Mr. J. C, Gk H., and one or two others being present. 
By sun-rise this morning the depot wharf was again crowded by 
an anxious multitude, several hundred in number, seeking safety 
in flight ; and from that hour onward throughout the day, has 
there been a continued stream of egress from every possible or 

conceivable avenue. The tidings of Mrs. C 's illness this 

morning spread perfect consternation far and wide, and deter- 
mined hundreds who had not even entertained a serious pur- 
pose of the kind, upon leaving the town before set of sun. 
Throughout the day, new cases of the fever are reported on 
every street. Such a day of mortal panic and flight as to-day 

has been, I desire never to see again. Sunset. — The town 

would seem to be by this time nearly deserted. Whole streets, 
of the best located and built in town, are left without a white 
occupant, (Isai. 5 : 9 :) "Of a truth, many houses are desolate, 
even great and fair, without inhabitant." As a friend ob- 
served to-day: "Houses and lots, and lands, are of no account 
now." What a comment are the incidents of to-day upon these 

9* 



102 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

words in Job : " All that a man hath will he give for his life ;* 
upon these words of our Saviour, " The life is more than meat, 
and the body than raiment." Oh ! that amidst this fearful crisis, 
I could have witnessed some evidence of heed to this admonition 
of our Lord: " Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His right- 
eousness, and all tilings shall be added thereto." There is a lit- 
eral fulfillment in our midst, from house to house, of that fearful 
judgment denounced upon the disobedient Israelites of old: u The 
Lord hath given us a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and 
sorrow of mind ; and our lives hang in doubt before us ; and we 
fear, day and night, and have none assurance of our lives. In 
the morning we say, Would God it were evening ! and at even- 
ing we say, Would God it were morning ; for the fear of our 
heart wherewith we fear, and for the sight of our eyes which we 
see." The Suffolk proclamation is received, interdicting either 
public entertainment or private hospitality to any citizens of 
Portsmouth, and threatening a penalty of $100 to any one who 
should dare come. 

Sunday, August 5. — What a Sabbath stillness pervaded sea and 
land, streets and by-ways, as the sun rose upon the place. But 
in an hour or two, the car-bell was the signal of a new stampede 
of multitudes. Had but one service to-day, and scarce a dozen 
in attendance. Reports of the deaths of some, and the extreme 
illness of others, who had been sick only a day or two. Saw the 

S s at the hospital. She is perfectly unconscious ; has not been 

heard to speak since Saturday morning ; has had the black vomit 
most violently ; great apparent suffering ; every breath accompa- 
nied by a groan, which I could hear at some distance. She ex- 
pired about three hours after I saw her. He is quite calm, but 
his case is doubtful. Addressed him a few words of advice, beg- 
ging him to pray. Saw him frequently afterwards. 

Monday, August 6. — The day dawns in clouds and gloom. 



JOUKNAL OF EVENTS. 103 

Very cool, as last week, with repeated showers. The condition 
of the atmosphere is believed to favor the rapid dissemination of 
the disease. New cases reported hourly. Mr. S., the cabinet- 
maker and undertaker, finding it utterly impossible to meet the 
demand for coffins, when some ten or twelve are required daily, 
has been obliged, this morning, to make application to the com- 
mander of the Navy- Yard for aid. He received fifty-two coffins, 
four of which were in immediate requisition. It is observed that 
the streets through which the "sick cart 11 holds its dreary way, 
to and fro, are now specially smitten by the fever. John P. died 
this morning. Others of his father's family are quite sick of the 
fever. This young man entertained a high regard for old Mr. H., 
who lived next door, and whose death took place last "Wednesday. 
He staid almost constantly with Mr. H., attending and nursing him 
day and night. He continued his visits and attentions even after 

the appearance of black vomit convinced him of Mr. H 's disease. 

In a day or two he was taken, and yesterday and last night the 
hearts of his friends were gladdened by the evidences of convales- 
cence — a fine night's rest, all tranquil and promising ; and then 
of a sudden, towards morning, a little uneasiness supervened, and 
then, in a few minutes, the appearance of the dreaded black 
vomit conveyed the astounding announcement that all was over. 
And my own observation is, that generally, yellow-fever patients 
in the collapsed stage look comparatively well, only a little lan- 
guid, even when all hope has been surrendered, and they are 
within a few hours of dissolution. It is announced, to-day, that 
the last regular trip will be made to-day by the Weldon train. 
In future the train will stop at Suffolk as its terminus, and may 
send on a small car with the daily mail to this place. The Balti- 
more boat will enter the harbor to-morrow morning for the last 
time. Every person leaving Portsmouth by public conveyance in 
any direction, for the future, must present a written pass or per- 



104 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

mit, certifying that he is in good health, and signed by the Presi- 
dent of the Sanitary Committee. No bundle is allowed to passen- 
gers, only a trunk, and even when the condition imposed by these 
restrictions are strictly complied with, they find it difficult to es- 
cape. 

This evening we all remove out to the Poor House ; a vast re- 
lief; for the heart, almost sick with the dire incidents of daily 
town life, is ready to sigh : 

" Oh ! for a lodge in some vast wilderness." 

Tuesday, August 1 — Wednesday, 8 — TJwrsday, 9. — I remark the 
adherence to truth and nature with which famine is coupled, in 
the deprecations of the Litany, with plague and pestilence, as an 
attendant calamity. Great fears are entertained lest there may 
be actual suffering, from failure of the necessaries of life, between 
the present time and the reopening of the now- closed stores, which 
can not take place under two months hence. Throughout the 
earlier part of this week, not a quart of meal was to be obtained 
in town. Since then Mr. M. has obtained some forty bushels by 
a roundabout course, from Suffolk. His store, the only grocery 

except B 's now daily open on High street, opens about 9 A. m. 

and closes at 4 p.m., (the hours observed on the Pontine Marshes.) 
The only other stores open throughout our main business street 
are the dispensaries, whose doors are beset by an anxious throng 
in quest of medicines ; and the undertaker's, when those who have 
time and inclination call in order to know the number of deaths 
reported, coffins ordered, and interments in progress. There are 
no sounds, either of mirth or of business, in the main avenues ; 
no groups of grave men on the pavement ; no bands of frolicsome 
children in the highways or byways ; no social gatherings ; no 
hearty salutations and accostings when men meet, for every one 
seems to be dubious about his approaching neighbor ; no bridals ; no 



JOUEKAL OF EVENTS. 105 

baptisms; not even " dirges dire and sad funereal array," at the 
constantly-occurring burials. The ominous "sick wagon," with its 
tall white canopy, dashes up and down the empty streets ; and 
the black hearse, bearing its coffined burden, (or burdens, for 
sometimes there are more than one carried out at a time,) rattles 
by one with an indecent and revolting haste, not one emblem of 
sorrow, or accompaniment of human sympathy, relieving its sinis- 
ter effect. On "Wednesday, August 8, there were eleven burials 
— not funerals — for in these woful days man receives an inter- 
ment but little better than the burial of a dog. The daily average 
of deaths, from the beginning of this month, is about eight. 
"When the deaths occur in the daytime, the interments take place 
between one and three hours after dissolution. Amongst the dis- 
tressful accompaniments of our calamity is the almost callous in- 
difference manifested by the bereaved after the first day or two. 
Those who have lost their dearest friends within a week past, are 
in several instances observed to be walking about, and conversing 
and smiling as if nothing had happened. Much of this lack of 
sensibility, however, is assumed through "due necessity;" some 
of the afflicted, anxious to effect their escape from the place, ac- 
tually assumed the air of cheerfulness, and put away mourning 
habiliments, as travellers, lest some keenly scrutinizing glance 
might read their recent history, and divine the place and occasion 
of their departure, and the sad tale of their present circumstances ; 
some ominous wink or finger-end might seem to say: " That per- 
son was also one of them — his troubled appearance and faltering 
speech bewrayeth him." And thus the wo- worn fugitives forfeit 
every rite of public entertainment or private hospitality. On 
Tuesday *7, visited Mrs. Y. Her daughter is the Mrs. E. who 
moved from Gosport to King street, near the market, about two 
weeks ago, to escape disease, and was immediately seized with 
the pestilence, and is supposed to have infected that district. 



106 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

Last Saturday they again moved from King street to Washington 
street, where I found them. Mrs. Y. is past recovery, having the 
black vomit. But she is conscious, although so deaf in conse- 
quence of the influence of quinine, that I am obliged, in conver- 
sation and in prayer, to raise my voice to the loudest tones. 
Repeated my call on Wednesday, and on Thursday at 6| p. m., 
when one of those scenes of unmitigated distress presented itself, 
such as can only take place during the reign of pestilence. Mrs. 
Y. had just died in agony indescribable, and her daughter was 
alone in the house (save a little girl about ten years of age) to 
close her parent's eyes, and to render the last offices to her corpse 
in preparation for the burial. She, Mrs. F., was sitting, holding 
in her arms her only child, three years old — yesterday, well ; now, 
in a dying condition. The floor around was covered with black 
vomit, which the child had just thrown up. Its little dress was 
likewise smeared with vomit and blood from the nostrils. Mean- 
time the sad tidings had just reached Mrs. F. that her husband at 
the hospital was in a most unpromising condition. Thus, in one 
short hour, the relations of mother, wife, and daughter, which she 
had previously sustained, amid circumstances of unruffled happi- 
ness, were dissolving before her eyes. And she who, as she then 
observed, had never before known a trouble or affliction, was 
about to be left alone and desolate in the world. "What a night 
of horror was before her. Alone with her mother's corpse and 
her dying child, and every watch of the night ringing as it were 
the knell of her dying husband. Ah ! it was a difficult work to 
apply the consolations of our holy religion to one overtaken by 
such a storm of calamities. The actual history of the past eight 
or ten days, and the present condition of our afflicted town, have 
realized more than the apprehensions which the most timid or 
despondent could have ventured to forecast. It is awful ! Not 
only is all communication by public lines, either by land or by 



JOUBNAL OF EVENTS. 107 

water, utterly cut off, or so fettered and obstructed as to amount 
to nearly the same thing, but all approach of any one from Ports- 
mouth to any settlement or village in the vicinity is absolutely 
interdicted. At Old Point, fugitives from our town are met by 
the point of the bayonet. And I very much fear many will be 
the cases of suffering of our poor inhabitants, fleeing from their 
homes for their own lives and the lives of their families, and re- 
fused a reception in the places whither they flee. Already have 
several such fugitives died, and died without one of the few 
solaces they would have enjoyed in sickness in their own plague- 
smitten town. The instance has been reported to me of a 

Mrs. who, with her mother, fled to the premises of a near 

relation some seven or eight miles from town ; was there seized 
with yellow fever,- was forsaken by every friend and neighbor; 
in her extremity desired to have Christian ministration or at least 
to hear hymns sung, but asked in vain, and at last sung herself 
till her utterance and breath failed. It was with the utmost dif- 
ficulty that a rude cart could be procured to carry her body to 
the burial. And it was drawn by a steer. At Hampton the 
privilege of interment in the church-yard was denied in the case 
of a young lady, an only child, from Portsmouth, who had sick- 
ened and died a mile from Hampton. All her family connection 
for generations were interred in the church-yard. Her father, 
the same day returning to Portsmouth, was not permitted to pass 
through Hampton, on his way to the steamboat which stopped 
there for passengers. 

Further daily entries in this form are not found, 
but the history of the progress of the epidemic 
will appear fully in the letters written almost 
every day, which will be given in the following 
chapters. 



108 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 



CHAPTER XI. 

The Pestilence — Letters to Various Persona during the subse- 
quent Days of his Life — To his Son "William, the Author, and 
Others. 

To Ms Little Hon. 

" My Dear Little Willy : It is nearly time for your papa to be 
expecting a letter from you through the post-office. I think of 
you constantly. Here I am, sitting in my study-chair, the sun as 
hot as fire. The only cool-looking thing that I see is your little 
arbor, which is just in front of my open door. It is grown so 
thick now that you could hardly creep in underneath it. And 
your marigolds are blooming beautifully by the side of it. I 
would bo happy to see you here by my side, doing your little 
work at writing or reading ; or else in the garden watching your 
arbor ; but I know that you are much happier where you are, 
under the fine, large, shady locust-trees of your uncle's lawn, and 
frisking and sporting about with your dear, kind little cousins. 
Now don't forget to be always a good, gentle, sweet little boy. 
Sometimes you do forget at home, and whenever you do it makes 
your papa sorry. But it would indeed distress your papa if you 
should not behave well in every particular while you are at Aunt 

S 's. Be, or try to be a Christian little boy, in all your ways, 

in all your words. Be attentive, and don't grow tired whilst Aunt 
I. is reading to you, or hearing you read. Mind every word your 
Aunt M. says to you, and don't be in too great a hurry to eat 



LETTEES. 109 

"when you hear of food. I love to see little boys attentive to oth- 
ers, and not thinking only what they shall eat ; but looking round 
to see if others are helped, and trying to make others comfortable. 
Eemember it is a greedy boy that is anxious to stuff his own 
mouth, and does not care for others. Tell dear little Johnny that 
papa missed him this morning in the bed. He had nobody to 
speak to when he woke up in the morning. Even the musquitoes 
seem to have gone away. There was not one in my chamber 
last night. Now, my dear child, good by. 

" Your loving father. J. C." 



To Miss Mary Page, in Cumberland County p , Va. 

"Portsmouth, Monday Morning, Aug. 6, 1855. 
"My Dear Mary: * * And now I have one request to 
make of you. Do not deny it me. It is that you will main- 
tain the utmost cheerfulness and composure for Sally's and her 
family's sake. Do not add to her burdens of care and anxiety 
by the manifestation of despondency or undue solicitude about 
the absent. I know you will not. Our heavenly Father has 
thus far mercifully preserved me from all harm, and His protecting 
power is as remarkably manifested here as in any other place. 
I never have so realized the truth, ' His mercies are new every 
morning.' Oh I that w r e might always and everywhere be im- 
pressed from hour to hour that in Him we live, and move, and 
have our being, and that our daily preservation is a daily miracle 
of His power and benevolence towards us. * * To-day (Wednes- 
day) was publicly observed as a day of humiliation and prayer. 
The Christian community, generally, assembled together in one 
church, (the Methodist,) and we had a profitable time. Kiss my 
dear children for me. Tell them to be good boys. Tell Johnny 

10 



110 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

his papa says he must try to show himself a good boy by trying 
to take the medicine well." 



To his Sister-in-Law. 

"Norfolk County, near Portsmouth, Aug. 10, 1855. 

" My Dear J. : By the goodness of our Heavenly Father we 
are all permitted to reassemble around the household altar, 
hearth, and board, another morning, loaded with benefits. It is 
of the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compas- 
sions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Thy 
faithfulness. ****** 

"It is well, perhaps, that you should understand that no part 
of the town has enjoyed exemption from the visitations of 
the fell scourge, except North street and the north end of Court 
street. The community began to open their eyes to this unwel- 
come discovery, on Thursday and Friday of last week, the 2d 
and 3d instant. They then, most discreetly and wisely, as it 
now appears, seemed to come simultaneously to the conclu- 
sion that the only guarantee of safety was flight. Accordingly 
the exodus, which had already commenced, became from sun- 
rise on Friday, the most perfect stampede you ever heard of. Peo- 
ple who one hour solemnly protested that they had no apprehen- 
sion of the disease and no intention of courting safety by flight, 
were seen in the next hour fleeing as for their lives, with a few 
hastily-collected articles, going, they knew not whither. Steam- 
boats were crammed to their utmost capacity with freights of hu- 
man life and human baggage. Passenger-cars on the railroad 
were redoubled in number, and almost stuffed to bursting, and 
every individual or family thus going were obliged to provide 
themselves with a certificate of health from the chairman of the 



LETTERS. Ill 

Sanitary Committee. The climax of this migration was probably 
on Saturday, a day which I am confident I could never forget 
as long as I retain the remembrance of any thing ; and this was 
all well and wise, better both for those that went and those that 
staid, for this epidemic is nursed into vitality by close and 
crowded aggregations of human beings. One or two cases occur- 
ring in one house make that house and its precincts an infected 
district — a centre of malign influences for the whole vicinage. 
The clearing of a street or square of course leaves the disease 
no point on which to alight, no material on which to feed. Al- 
most every street in the chief and most central part of the town 
is thus vacated. * * * The only grocery store open on High 
street is U. M % and his hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Per- 
haps B 's is also open. Other stores of every description, ex- 
cept dispensaries, are closed. Actually, one danger to be appre- 
hended in the work of pestilence is famine. Several of the more 
provident families who have remained, as Mr. H 's, for ex- 
ample, and Mr. I., have laid in an ample store of provisions. There 
is no more ready handmaid to the disease than hunger. It is said 
to be exceedingly important as a preventive that the stomach be 

well filled, and, I need not add, that whoever are in Mrs. H 's 

hands are fed up to the very capacity of their systems. * * * * 
* * We, the inmates of W., enjoy thus far uninterrupted health. 
It is God's bestowment from day to day. "We feel it to be 
so as we never before have realized. It is blessed to feel grate- 
fully that 

* New every morning is the love 
Our wakening and uprising prove ! 
Through sleep and darkness safely brought, 
Restored to life, and power, and thought.' 

Oh ! why do we not always and everywhere feel that the con- 
tinuance of life and its blessings is one continuous miracle of a 
wisdom, love, and power no less than infinite ? 



112 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

" You doubtless recollect that to-day is, in my own personal 
calendar, an anniversary of most touching interest. Each scene 
and incident of that bright festal day which united my destinies 
and hers whom now we deplore, in that hallowed tender bond 
which I fondly dreamed that only a far, remote old age would 
sunder — each scene passes before my sad spirit, as its appro- 
priate hcur is struck. The very glow of the clear, cloudless sum- 
mer sky is the same ; the gentle, grateful breeze is the same ; and 
the rural quiet of this sequestered spot, hemmed in by woods and 
gardens, heightens the illusion. ' But the Lord gave and the 
Lord hath taken away : blessed be the name of the Lord I 1 What ! 
shall I receive good at the hand of the Lord and shall I not re- 
ceive evil ? It is only when ' need be' that we are in heaviness 
through tribulation. 

" With regard to returning hither. I may as well tell you, if 
you have not already surmised as much, that no white man, wo- 
man, or child can return to Portsmouth until after several severe 
frosts have occurred, under peril of death." 



u Portsmouth, Monday, August 13, 1855. 
" My Beloved Sister : * * * I can scarcely describe to 
you my emotions of solicitude about my poor sick child, and of 
gratitude to you for your tender assiduity and devotion to his 
care. The Lord recompense you abundantly for it! I can 
plainly perceive, by the tenor of all the letters thus far received, 
that so far from improving, his health is retrograding. Tou can 
imagine the conflict in my mind. There are (or will be after this) 
but two Protestant ministers here to administer such consolation, 
and to speak such words in season to the suffering or the afflict- 
ed as emergency may require. And even if I felt at liberty to 
leave my post just at this juncture, I very much question 



LETTEKS. 113 

whether I should be as safe as in remaining. Some of our un- 
fortunate Portsmouth people who have fled, have been seized 
with the fever elsewhere, and of course, without a chance of es- 
cape from death, for the proper treatment of the disease is not 
understood away from the sea-board. On the other hand, whoever 
is taken sick here is removed without loss of time to the spacious 
and airy hospital, and there are instantly put under the energetic 
management of the government physicians, who are familiar 
with their work from long and varied practice in this department. 
We all continue in perfect health. I repeat, that I never had a 
finer appetite in my life. *■_**■.* Yesterday, I had service 
in the morning in our church, two or three persons only being 
present. In the afternoon, by special request, I officiated in the 
N". S. Presbyterian Church, in Middle street, Mr. H. having been 
sick and not yet strong enough to resume his duties. Mr. T. will 
be obliged to withdraw to the upper country early this week, on 

account of the hopelessly feeble state of Mrs. T 's health. 

Mr. W., Mr. B., and Mr. TV., left last week. Mr. H., I believe, 
stays in the country, about four miles from town ; so that Mr. E., 
the chaplain, and myself, constitute at present the only avail- 
able force." 

The next letter is beautifully written, in printed 
characters — large and black — upon a sheet of note- 
paper : 

"Portsmouth, Tuesday, August 14, 1855. 
" 'Willie:' My dear little fellow, what would I not give for 
a chance to see you and your poor little sick brother ; but I feel 
it is my duty to stay here as long as the sickness continues, if 
possible. It is pleasant to have an opportunity of saying some- 
thing to comfort the poor suffering families. One family that I 
10* 



114 MEMOIR OF KEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

was called to see was in a sad case. The lady, Mrs. F., had just re- 
covered from yellow fever, enough to admit of her being moved, 
and this was the second removal of the family within a week. 
Her husband was taken sick, and carried away in the sick-cart 
to the hospital. The same day her husband was taken, her 
mother was taken sick, but did not go to the hospital. And she 
sent by Dr. M., to ask me to come and say something to comfort 
her and prepare her to die. I used to go every day to see her, 
and talk to her about Jesus. The third day, when I opened the 
door, there was great crying, for the old lady had just died, and 
her daughter, Mrs. F., was left alone to close her eyes and pre- 
pare her body for burying. Just before her mother died, her lit- 
tle child, three years old, was taken very sick, and the black 
vomit began to come out of its mouth, and blood out of its nos- 
trils. Just then poor Mrs. F. received news from the hospital 
that her husband was probably dying. Oh ! it was enough to 
melt one's heart to see that poor woman. Night was coming on, 
and she would have to spend the hours of darkness all alone, 
with her dear mother's corpse and her only, dying child. No- 
body offers to stay in houses where there is any body sick of 
yellow fever, particularly at night ; for they say that night, be- 
tween sunset and sunrise, is the time when people take the sick- 
ness. And at the hospital there is the greatest number of little 
boys and girls, and babies, whose fathers and mothers are sick, 
or perhaps have died, leaving no money to pay for taking care of 
them, and no kind friends to carry them away and treat them 
like their own children. Don't you pity these poor little orphan 
children, that have no friend even to give them a piece of bread? 
And don't you thank our Heavenly Father that he is so kind to 
you and Johnny ? 

" My dear little boy, love God with all your might, for Jesus 
Christ's sake, and try to grow wiser and better every day. Tell 



LETTEES. 115 

Johnny that papa is going to come up and see him and all the 
people, and 'Hatton' is coming with him, as soon as we can. 

" Your affectionate father." 

The next of his letters is addressed to the 
writer, in answer to one which was addressed to 
him, as soon as his friend knew that he was at his 
post and there resolved to stand : 

"Portsmouth, August 16, 1855. 

" My Beloved Friend and Brother : Like a trumpet-blast 
does your letter stir and nerve my spirit ! Yes ; I am here, ' a 
debtor to mercy alone.' Miserably unprofitable as I feel myself 
to be as an ambassador for God, at this solemn season of the 
lighting down of His arm, my purpose to abide by my post as 
long as Pestilence holds its dread sway amongst us, has not once 
faltered. And I am able to testify to the praise of tho Father of 
Mercies, that even in this atmosphere of death, my health is thus 
far perfect. Not an ache, or a pain, or a sensation of languor, or 
the least diminution of appetite, have I experienced. Oh ! if 
my heart is not specially and lastingly impressed by this chapter 
of the * goodness and severity of God,' which, has been opened 
to my contemplation for the past month, I shall have reason to 
tremble at its insensibility. 

"By far the larger part of my own, as well as of all the 
other congregations of this town, sought safety in flight immedi- 
ately on perceiving that the pestilence, from being the infection 
of a filthy suburb mainly crowded with foreigners, had become 
an epidemic sparing neither locality, nor station, nor wealth, nor 
worth. The exodus by flight and in a state of mortal trepida- 
tion, of some seven or eight thousand persons, in the brief com- 
pass of two or three days, is a spectacle to leave its deep imprint 



116 MEMOIR OF EEV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

and its singular mental associations upon the heart, until every 
memory of the past is obliterated. 

" I have lost but two members of my congregation ; two at op- 
posite ends of the social scale ; but praised be Sovereign grace, 
as I believe, both l one in Christ Jesus.'' 

" The one was a female in the obscure walks of life, living 
within the infected district of Gosport. I called upon this family 
to ascertain that it was ' well with them ' — if not in body and es- 
tate, at least in spirit — one day when the house in the same 
street, immediately opposite, contained three dying victims of the 
fell scourge ; and except this where my parishioner lived, there 
was not a house in which there was not one dying or dead. I 
found my parishioner, her husband, and only child, well and 
cheerful. She was manifestly placing her trust, in that hour of 
fearful suspense, in her covenant God. In two or three days 
they were all simultaneously taken with the fever, and carried to 
the hospital. On going thither to see them, I found her speech- 
less, sightless, and unconscious, in the terrific conflict with death, 
which terminated in an hour or two. Her husband, unprepared 
to die, has been spared, I trust, to make his preparation. 

" The other communicant was a widow lady in easy circum- 
stances, whose fine native impulses and qualities were exalted 
and refined by grace ; and who was in activity, benevolence, and 
moral influence, a mother in Israel ; and whose residence far re- 
mote from the original seat of disease, seemed to guarantee to 
her exemption from any ground of apprehension. * In the midst 
of life ' she was found in the article of death. But oh ! the bless- 
ed serenity with which she proclaimed to us, that ' Christ, in her, 
was the hope of glory.' 

"It has been my sad privilege to see other victims of this pes- 
tilence, and to present to them the promises and assurances of 
the everlasting Gospel in their trying hour. 



LETTEES. 117 

" My family are in Cumberland, at my brother-in-law's, whither 
they went before the commencement of the reign of alarm here. 
My poor little boy Johnny is, and has been for six months, in a 
condition of general debility and ill-health, which excites great 
uneasiness in my mind. It has been intimated to me that I may 
never again see him. I need not say that my mind is at times a 
scene of conflict. I try to lay my solicitude at the feet of Him 
who careth for us ! The latest accounts of him are more encour- 
aging. "Will you not write again, and soon, my dear brother ? 
If you knew what a cordial to my spirit, what a stimulant, your 
epistle has been, I am sure you would. My lest love to Mrs. C. 

" Yours, J. C." 



"Portsmouth, Friday, August 17, 1855. 
" My Dear M and J , (his sisters-in-law in Cumber- 
land :) Many thanks to you for your daily bulletins in regard to 
Johnny's condition — for the relief they administer to my mind. 
* * I need not enlarge upon the present state of disease. I 
have prepared a journal of my daily observation and impressions 
for the fortnight following the day of your departure from Ports- 
mouth, and my first impulse was to send it ; but it occurs to me 
that you have heard enough of our woes, for the present at least ; 
I may offer it to your perusal at some future time. Mrs. H. and 
her children must have a charmed life. They are, and have been 
for a fortnight, the sole inhabitants in the square which was so 
fatally desolated at that time that every one fled thence ; and she 
and her children have only had one or two slight and transient 
attacks of indisposition. We all tried to prevail on her to go 
with her family to the hospital, and the vehicle was actually in 
waiting at her door for two hours, but she positively refused to 
go. There must be much suffering among indigent white fami- 



118 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

lieSj but perhaps more among the free blacks, and some servants 
who have been left, by their owners or those families to whom 
they were hired, without any provision for their sustenance when 
well or comfort when sick. This morning I went to see Mrs. G-., 
who lost her eldest son by the fever yesterday. I found her sit- 
ting in the midst of the apartment, surrounded by her prostrate 
and clinging children, her commanding figure in an attitude of 
forlorn grief, with upturned, streaming eyes, and clasped hands, 
that would have rivalled the poet's and artist's conception of 
Niobe. Poor, unhappy woman 1 I tried, but I fear unsuccess- 
fully, to soothe her mental agitation; for she expressed the dread- 
ful conviction that her son, though a faithful and dutiful child to 
her, had never entertained a thought of God or of eternity, and 
thus had been ' gathered with sinners;' and she was inconsola- 
ble at the thought of her own unfaithfulness to his spiritual welfare. 
She wished to know of me, if I thought there was any scriptural 
warrant for her interceding for the peace of his soul ! I trust 
Grod will give her penitence, and the peace of believing, which 
she seems to desire. Yours, James.'' 



"Portsmouth, August 22, 1855. 
"The state of things in town is gloomy in the extreme. Yes- 
terday there were seventeen funerals, and to-day it seems likely 
that there will be as many again. There are scenes in every 
street, I might almost say in every inhabited house, which it 
would make your heart ache to behold, or even to hear. Yester- 
day afternoon I observed that one or two persons were gathered, 
apparently in curiosity, around the door of the small house, di- 
rectly at the corner of G- and M streets. I went thither, 

and saw within, two gentlemen who had been drawn in, as I was, 



LETTEES. 119 

by desire to know what was the matter, Mr. H. and Mr. B. 
On a pallet on the floor was a young man, not more than 21, just 
breathing his last, his blood-shot eyes fixed, and himself insen- 
sible ;. the bedding and floor covered with, the fearful black vomit, 
and over him his widowed mother, with an expression at once 
of indescribable affection for this dying youth, and at the same 
time so woe-begone and imploring, as if she hoped that even yet 
we might have it in our power to avert in some way the terrible 
calamity. It melted our hearts. We all could do nothing but 
weep with her. He was the only survivor of eight children. 
And he was every thing to her — not only her support but her 
companion ; one of the most devoted and affectionate boys that 
ever lived. It seemed to be his life's great purpose and pleasure 
to make her happy. As I left the house he breathed his last. 
Having left my umbrella behind, I returned in a few minutes, 
and there was the poor mother, bewildered with grief, vainly en- 
deavoring to draw hose on the feet of her son, and to shroud 
him. She could get no human being, white or black, to assist 
her in this last sad duty. Mr. G-. H. subsequently came in, and 
in that true spirit of heroism, utterly heedless of all consequences, 
which has characterized him throughout this season, he shrouded 
the poor young man himself. All alone as this mother and son 
were, and preoccupied as every one is with their own troubles, no 
one knew that he was ill till a short time before his death." 



To his Sister-in-Law. 

11 Thursday, 2 p.m. 
" My Dear J. : I have just returned from going my daily 
rounds amongst the sick — a melancholy errand, and not without 



120 MEMOIE OF KEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

its satisfactions. In some instances, at least, the soul is gladdened 
by the manifestation of a power of faith which meets the King 
of Terrors in his own dark domain, bids him defiance, and more 
than conquers him, through Him who loved us. Another heart- 
cheering letter from my friend C. Oh ! how much solace it af- 
fords me, day after day, to hear from Johnny; to read every 
treasured-up word of his ; to be permitted to watch, as it were, 
in sympathy, though not in presence, beside his sick couch. Can 
I tell you all what I feel toward you for the devoted, self-sacrificing 
part you are taking in daily and nightly nursing him? The Lord 
recompense you all, is the wish and prayer of 

"Tour attached brother, 

" J. Chisholm." 

This last letter was written on a sheet containing 
a longer and detailed report from Mr. Chisholm's 
friend, host, and parishioner, E. A. Hatton, who 
wrote almost daily to the anxious family in Cum- 
berland county. 

To the Author. 

' ' Portsmouth, August 25, 1855. 
"My Beloved Friexd: Again I am able to report myself, in 
rejoinder to your last most acceptable letter, as a pensioner upon 
the bounties of an indulgent and forbearing Creator. The week 
now drawing to a close has surpassed, in features of woful inter- 
est, either preceding week. On Tuesday there were seventeen 
interments; on Wednesday, nineteen; yesterday, twenty-one. 
Occasionally a day occurs in which the destroying angel seems 
to be passing, and suspending his terrible work. Since sunset 



LETTERS. 121 

of yesterday, I suppose some fifteen must have been buried. 
Often has the faithful wife, after days and nights of incredible en- 
durance and exertion, been obliged to lave and shroud, unassisted, 
the corpse of her husband ; the daughter or son, a parent ; the 
father or mother, a beloved child; the husband, his wife. And 
not only this, but the very nearest of kin are called on by the 
emergency of the case to deposit the loved and deplored one's 
mortal remains in the coffin, and perhaps to assist to bear it forth, 
over the threshold of home, to the hearse. By these and similar 
occurrences the sensibilities of the most tender-hearted are in a 
measure blunted; and we learn to take our part, with calm 
apathy, in scenes, the report of which, in other times, would have 
1 harrowed up our souls.' But even amid all these appalling in- 
cidents — incidents which seem almost involuntarily to force the 
cry, ' Hath the Lord forgotten to be gracious ? and are His mer- 
cies clean gone for ever?' God mercifully vouchsafes glorious 
manifestations of His presence amongst us, as a faithful Creator 
and most merciful Saviour. Amid the involuntary groans of 
vanquished nature in the sufferer, and the wails of heart-stricken 
friends around, the calm, holy response of triumphant Faith is 
oft-times heard, proclaiming that the last foe has been conquered, 
and more than conquered, through Him who loved us, and that 
already 'Heaven lifts its everlasting portals high.' What was 
my gratification to meet yesterday, in my daily visit to the hos- 
pital, my old friend R. H. He has been ordered hither for the 
present. He looks in good condition, and we had a most plea- 
sant chat. In hope of being able to resume this correspondence 
at an early date, and desiring' you to continue to write to me 
whenever you have a period of leisure, I remain devotedly yours, 

"J. Chisholm." 



11 



122 MEMOIR OF EEV. JAMES GHISHOLM. 



CHAPTEE XII. 

The Pestilence — Letter to Mrs. Holliday — His Brothers, Sisters, 
and Others. 

To exhibit the full detail of all the labors and 
services rendered to all around by this devoted 
man would require that we should present scores 
of letters lying around us. His very correspond- 
ence from the latter part of July up to the day of 
his seizure by the disease, on the 7th of Septem- 
ber, must have averaged some six or eight letters 
per diem. He was thoughtful of others besides 
those of his own household. For evidence of this 
see the annexed letter : 

" Portsmouth, Monday, Aug. 20. 

"My Dear Mrs. Holliday : Gustavus desires me to drop a line 
informing you of the causes of his failure to visit you as he had 
proposed to-day. He is perfectly well. 

The case is this : He spent last night with B. C, who is doing 
well, and this morning on his return from the hospital, he discov- 
ered, calling at J Waverley,' that Dr. Maupin had been taken sick. 
He at once determined that it would be impracticable for him to 
leave town to-day. 



LETTERS. 123 

11 He has just breakfasted with us at Mrs. Hatton's table. I re- 
peat that he is in perfect health, and moreover he begs you to be 
assured that in the event (an event of which there is no present 
likelihood) of his being taken sick, you shall be apprised of the fact 
forthwith. "With fervent wishes for your happiness, both tempo- 
ral and spiritual, and with much esteem, I remain yours, 

"James Chi.sholm." 

In departing from our plan of giving the ini- 
tials of the names used by Mr. 0. in private letters 
never intended to be seen by the public eye, in 
this present instance, we know that we shall be 
pardoned by every one who lived through the pes- 
tilence in 'Portsmouth, unless it be by the brave 
young gentleman whose mother is here written to, 
to alleviate her apprehensions about the absence 
of her son. The author has not the honor of his 
acquaintance, and can not be suspected of any par- 
tiality, when he alludes especially to this unmar- 
ried young barrister, who had no other tie to bind 
him to Portsmouth, to the sick-bed, the hospital 
wards, the dying scenes, the offices towards the 
dead of the most repulsive nature, than a pure, dis- 
interested humanity. If there be any one who 
will not subscribe to the sufficiency of this reason 
for this apparent impropriety in introducing his 
name, besides himself, let that person peruse the fol- 
11* 



124 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

lowing extract of a letter from Mr. C. to his bro- 
ther, in Saco, Maine, dated fifteen days afterwards : 

"Portsmouth, Wednesday, Sept 5, 1855. 
"* * * The few citizens who remain on their feet to constitute 
the administrative council of the town are at their wits' end 
Noble men ! Then number has been sadly decimated. Several' 
of the best have fallen ; but God still mercifully preserves some? 
and they are men who merit more than the hero's amaranth. 
First and foremost among them from the very first, from the 20th 
of July onward, has been and is your friend Gustavus Holliday. 
You would scarcely credit what that more than hero has done, 
has suffered, has endured, has sacrificed." 

If my reference to this gentleman should be 
thought invidious, when there are so many others 
whose names will live in the annals of this dark 
day as well as in many hearts, I plead my apology 
in this voice from the dead : 

To George W. Grrice, absent at the /Springs. 

" Portsmouth, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 1855. 
11 My Dear Friend : Tour letter is received by me this even- 
ing, and its kind sentiments have both cheered and deeply af- 
fected me. I can sincerely say that to none of my absent Mends 
have my thoughts more frequently recurred than to yourself and 
1 M.,' and I had more than once resolved to ascertain your where- 
abouts, and to hold a chat with you on paper. How soul-subdu- 
ing and yet soothing and elevating, the contemplation of that glo- 
rious temple not made with hands, with whose infinite diversity 



LETTERS. 125 

of sublimities and beauties your senses are daily feasted. Na- 
ture's grand and hallowed fane engages and procures to the de- 
vout beholder a continual Sabbath. The glorious harmonies of 
that handiwork, unmarred by the touch of human art, constitute 
a real presence of the Infinite Architect ; and the full choir and 
antiphon of the interminable forest constitute the gushing melo- 
dies of Nature's ceaseless hymn. For the moment, when the mind 
suddenly turns with the quickness of thought from those exqui- 
site pictures of beauty and of hallowed repose, to the awful deso- 
lations of a city smitten by plague, where a malign agency seems 
to have disjointed the very frame-work of society, and to have 
defeated every providential arrangement indicative of the wisdom 
and benevolence of God, it is prone involuntarily to exclaim : 
{ Are these His doings ?' Yet it is even so. God's attributes, 
not only of infinite holiness and power, but likewise of wisdom 
and boundless benevolence, are no less manifested in the wofu.1 
history of each dreary day here than beneath the silent and love- 
ly shadows of those perpetual hills. The havoc wrought by sor- 
row and anguish, disease and death, are the sad entail of human 
transgression against (not the natural or physical, but) the moral 
and spiritual law of our Creator. But oh ! unspeakable benevo- 
lence in Him to overrule all these dreadful consequences of sin to 
the furtherance of the everlasting bliss of all that believe through 
the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. In all our calamity 
God is here in our midst. "We have seen, we have felt His mer- 
ciful influence allaying the sufferings His hand unwillingly in- 
flicts, almost neutralizing the death-agonies of the victim of pes- 
tilence, filling the sinking soul with inexpressible calmness, peace, 
and joy, opening wide heaven's everlasting portals to their weary 
vision, and opening their parched lips to utter as a final note of 
praise : Jesus is precious to me ! Death ! where is thy sting ? 
Thanks be to God who giveth me the victory through our Lord 



126 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

Jesus Christ! Jesus can make a dying-bed feel soft as downy 
pillows are ! The last victim of pestilence, a few hours since, was 
our heroic Dr. Trugien, worthy of more than a hero's laurels, and 
not less than a martyr's crown. His life was a sacrifice to his 
benevolent professional zeal. Day and night, like his noble com- 
- peers, the other members of our medical staff, Schoolfield and 
Maupin, he has breathed an atmosphere of pestilence, and been 
conversant with scenes too thrilling and harrowing to be contem- 
plated. Only a few days ago, he remarked to me, that the scenes 
of wo, not merely from the effects of the disease, but from the 
suffering and want incident to the present unparalleled calamity, 
which in his daily rounds he was called to witness, would hardly 
be credited, and could not be witnessed with any degree of com- 
posure. Last Friday morning, whilst at the hospital, Dr. T. en- 
tered arm in arm with Dr. Schoolfield, to all appearance as well 
as usual. We engaged in a few minutes' conversation whilst 
standing in the passage, and he described to me in glowing and 
affecting terms the scene from which he had but a few hours be- 
fore returned — the death-bed of Emma Boutwell. Turning to 
God on her bed of sickness, she found joy and peace in believing, 
and the Doctor was doubtless divinely vouchsafed this spectacle 
of glad triumph over death before being himself called to tra- 
verse the dark valley. But at that moment, scarce five days ago, 
who anticipated this result ? He remarked to me further, that 
he felt slightly indisposed. He was fatigued, and had yielded to 
the solicitation of friends in seeking the quiet retreat of the hos- 
pital for a few days before returning again to active duty. On 
Sunday night the fever suddenly took an unfavorable tendency 
with him ; symptoms of apoplexy, from the fatal effects of which 
it was not in the most accomplished medical skill to save him. 
The event has cast a deeper shade of gloom over every heart. 
But he was a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ. He was, 



LETTERS. 127 

though young and in the midst of life, prepared to die ! Death 
had no terrors for him whose child-like faith looked implicitly to 
Death's great Vanquisher. Oh ! what contemporary of his will 
take his place in our community, as an active, zealous, consistent 
follower of the Redeemer ? May I not indulge the hope — I will 
at least put up the earnest grayer— that it may be yourself, my 
dear and valued friend, upon whom the mantle of such Christian 
character as his may fall. The holy cause of religion can not 
spare, in this place, such an advocate, at such an age, for influence 
and active usefulness. God give you grace to resolve henceforth 
to be His and His alone ! You have heard that some of our 
shining marks are stricken down. Captain George Chambers, 
Lewis W. Boutwell, who can fill their places? Nash Tatem, 
Patrick Williams, James Ed. Wilson, Wilson Williams, old Mr. 
Ashton, Mrs. Atkinson, Mrs. Potts, Mrs. Avery Williams, Mrs. 
Colin Campbell, and a host of other valued members of so- 
ciety are numbered with the silent dead. Our Mayor Piske, after 
having seen his family successively brought to the verge of the 
grave, is now himself very sick. Schoolfield and Maupin are just 
creeping forth from the terrific paralysis with which this disease, 
even when not fatal, smites the frame. They will scarcely be 
able to resume their professional duties this summer. Mr. Esk- 
ridge and myself are the only resident ministers who can go about 
and visit the sick, the dying and the bereaved. Handy, Devlin, 
Hume, are convalescent of attacks of sickness. The other clergy 
are away. I have been able to keep open our little sanctuary 
without an interruption, our church being the only one in town 
open. The congregation is miscellaneous, and not very many at 
that. For several Sundays past, the solemn fact has been re- 
marked, that some are at church for the last time. In perfect 
health, sitting before me on Sunday, before another Lord's day 
some one or more has gone into the dread silence of eternity. On 



128 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

one day last week, I think I visited more than a dozen dying 
persons; but we hope that the plague is being in a measure 
staid. The number of new cases is fewer ; many are yielding 
to treatment. On Saturday, twenty-six were buried, and in five 
days of last week the total was ninety-four. Of my own family I 
am constrained in sorrow to say that I fear I may never again look 
upon my precious little Johnny. I am not encouraged by the let- 
ters I receive to indulge such a hope. But 'It is the Lord ; let 
Him do what seemeth Him good.' ' Though He slay me, yet will 
I trust in Him.' Willie is well, and the dear little fellow does not 
forget the many evidences of your kind partiality for him. 
" Your sincerely attached friend, "J. Chisholm." 



To Ms Sister-in-law. 

"Portsmouth, Friday Evening, August 31, 1855. 

" My Dear M : The writing the above date reminds mo 

that but a few hours longer remain of a month, which in me- 
morable and terrible interest, surpasses any month I have ever 
lived through. It seems almost a year since the dull, dark, rainy 
morning of the first of August ; a morning which brought to us 
the saddest and most alarming tidings in regard to the condition 
of the entire town, and which seemed to fix the purpose of a 
general flight. * . ? * My thoughts have been, when I have 
not been visiting the sick, devoted to my own dear suffering 
child. And shall I never see his sweet face, or hear his voice 
again ? I went home to our house to-day, and every object, his 
toys, his little dresses and hats, the porch and its steps, down 
which he has so often run in glee to welcome my coming, the 
kitchen, the yard, Aunt Amy — every object brought its tribute 
of touching associations and recollections ; I could almost hear 
his little footfall on the stairs. If it might please God even 



LETTERS. 129 

yet to spare him; but ' He hath done all things well,' 'His holy 
will be done V 

"Your brother, J. Chisholm." 



"Portsmouth, Saturday, September 1, 1855. 
"My Beloved Sister: Sometimes I suspect that amid the 
incessant excitement occasioned by the awful condition of our 
community, I have not realized the severity of the trial at my 
own door. I can not realize that my threshold may never again 
be crossed by one of those two dear little ones, whose existence 
constitutes my main earthly satisfaction and hope. Johnny's con- 
dition is like a painful dream rather than a fearful reality. But 
my Heavenly Father knows how large a share of earthly happi- 
ness I am to be intrusted with, and may I be fitted not only for 
the meek endurance of present troubles, but likewise for any far- 
ther chastisement which His righteous will may have in reserve 
for me. I was called to witness this morning, a scene sadly in 
consonance with my own feelings. Dr. M., the senior and presid- 
ing surgeon of the IT. S. Hospital, sent for me early, to pray with 
himself and wife for two of their sweet children, a boy and girl, 
of the ages of seven and nine, who are lying at the point of 
death with this malignant fever : if these should be taken, they 
will have but one left, who is not as old as "W. I talked with 
the little girl, and when I began to repeat to her, ' There is a 
happy land,' the brightening of her countenance indicated that I 
had touched a responsive chord. She knew it, and her father 
desired me to sing it. She sang part of the hymn with me. 
Sweet child ! I trust she will be spared to her doting parents. 
The breaking out of disease, as in these, within the hospital 
premises, is very ominous. Perhaps it indicates that the atmo- 



130 MEMOIR OF REY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

sphere there is infected ; if so, then all the physicians, and nurses, 
and attendants there, may be taken down, and the direful re- 
sults can not he foreseen : but this is not sufficiently established. 
The state of things in Norfolk is said to be awful, beyond de- 
scription. There are twelve hundred cases of sickness, and a 
daily average of thirty deaths. Two or three more physicians 
have died there within the past forty-eight hours. Our Academy 
is crowded with destitute, homeless, orphan children. *Oh! 
these are no times for indulging in miserable feelings. We are 
called on, as disciples of the Saviour, to forget poor, miserable 
self, and to be considerate for others. I regard sitting down and 
making one's self and others around one, miserable, as esoecially 
sinful at this solemn time. Lei us be up and doing. 

" Yours. James Chisholm." 



To Mr, Joseph Chisholm, Salem. 

11 Portsmouth, Monday Morning, September 3, 1855, 
" My Dear Brother: Your letter was received last Tuesday. 
From the tenor of your letter, as well as from the fact that I had not 
heard from you before, I perceived that you had not the slightest 
conception of the nature and extent of the calamity which is 
desolating our devoted community — a calamity, I verily believe, 
without a parallel in the history of the United States. The prin- 
cipal part of the population left the place in panic. Of nearly 
12,000, the estimated number of inhabitants of Portsmouth, there 
remains not 4000, white and colored inclusive. The mortality 
by this fearful epidemic has already amounted to about 400. so 
that the remaining population is literally decimated, and the rav- 
ages of the disease continue unabated. But the desolation occa- 
sioned by the mere mortality is but a part — I might almost 



i 



LETTEES. 131 

say the lesser part of our calamity. Although philanthropic 
physicians and nurses from abroad have nobly taken their lives 
in their hands and come in to our relief, the amount and di- 
versified phases of our distress, occasioned by desertion and in- 
sufficient nursing, beggar computation. In the wake of pesti- 
lence too, closely follows famine. Its pinching horrors are al- 
ready felt by a large part of our population, though the genial 
atmosphere of summer lingers with us, and autumn is pouring 
her redundant stores all around us. There is but one, I must 
correct myselfj there is not one grocery-store open in the place. 
A depository of the provisions, however, generously sent us by the 
noble cities of Philadelphia and Baltimore, has been opened, and 
from this source the needy and wo-stricken sufferers are supplied. 
With a characteristic delicacy, our municipal authorities have 
made no parade whatever of the public and universal misery ; 
but the good Samaritans of these cities have literally come where 
we were, and when they saw us, they had compassion on us and 
have done much toward 'binding up our wounds,' at least have 
taken care of us, and have literally said : * Whatsoever thou ex- 
pendest more, I will be responsible for.' " * * * 



"Portsmouth, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 1855. 
" My Dear J. : Just at this moment an astonishing 1 spectacle 
is presented to our gaze, and I trust we may hail it as the first 
omen of better days. A schooner, under full sail, is actually en- 
tering the harbor. There has been nothing like this seen for at 
least six weeks past. I presume she brings a cargo of ice, the 
supply in both towns being nearly exhausted. We are all well 
to-day. The state of things in Norfolk is said to be appalling 
beyond all conception. The Baltimore steamer came into port 
to-day, to land, among other articles, a lot of fifty coffins ; and we 



132 MEMOIR OF EEV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

are told that such was the dire need of them, that there was ac- 
tual quarrelling and fighting over them." 



To the Author. 

"Portsmouth, Sept. 5, 1855. 
" My Very Dear Friend : I must say one word to you, and I 
can say no more. Your letter, just received, has been l a word 
in season to him that is weary.' Side by side with it in my box 
lay another communication from Cumberland county, announcing 
what I had so little prepared myself for, though preadmonished 
— that my precious child had ceased to suffer, and was a lamb 
gathered into the Good Shepherd's bosom ; and if the little ones 
be intrusted to the guardian care of elder ransomed spirits, faith 
teaches me to whose nurture the spirit of my darling has been 
consigned by Him whose name is Love — she who on earth ap- 
proved herself so, a faithful, tender, Christian mother. ' He hath 
done all things well. 7 The condition of our town is awful beyond 
conception. The eye must see; the ear must hear; the fancy 
can not furnish the deep, dark shadows of the picture. On Sun- 
day, thirty-two deaths in Portsmouth ; on Monday, twenty-one ; 
yesterday, thirteen; to-day, by eleven o'clock, seventeen. The 
heartless language of the undertaker from whom I obtained this 
morning's report, was, almost in a tone of exultation: 'Oh! we'll 
get it up to twenty before sunset.' 

" Yours, in Christian love, 

"J. Chisholm." 



"Portsmouth, Wednesday, September 5, 1855. 
" My Dear Martha : It probably occurs to you, that in the 
present appalling condition of our plague-smitten community, but 



LETTERS. 133 

one alternative presents itself to the consideration of every one. 
Shall I regard personal safety alone, and flee with speed from 
this atmosphere of poison and death ; or shall I look the ques- 
tion of my relations to society, to humanity, and to God, full in 
the face, and decide accordingly ? The question of duty as a 
minister of Christ, has determined me to stand firm at the post to 
which I have believed all along the providence of God called me. 
Up to this hour, for the period of seven weeks that the desolat- 
ing scourge has been doing its remorseless work amongst us, I 
have been perfectly well ; not one uneasy or uncomfortable feel- 
ing. For five weeks of this time I have been a daily, and some- 
times a nightly attendant, as occasion might call me, at the sick 
and dying-beds of the sufferers and victims of this malignant 
fever. My present condition surprises myself. I trust that I 
more than ever realize that the * Eternal God is my refuge, and 
underneath are the everlasting arms.' I am in His hands, to do 
with me what seemeth Him good. The wards of the U. S. Hos- 
pital, temporarily granted for the use of our people of Ports- 
mouth, are crowded, to the number of 150 or 200, with yellow- 
fever patients, and I pay these wards a daily visit, endeavoring 
to administer as far as desired or needed, the blessed resources 
of our holy religion. It is some comfort amid these dreary walks 
of duty, to reflect that I have aided some poor creatures to seek 
and find that peace which the world can neither give nor take 
away. I also visit whenever in town I am called for. As to 
the details of wo presented by our present condition, I do be- 
lieve that it is utterly incompetent to any descriptive powers to 
convey a picture of them. Never since the continent of Ameri- 
ca has been settled, (I speak calmly, and with reference to what 
I have read or heard ofj) never has so terrible a calamity over- 
whelmed the same amount of population. Tou would find it 
extremely difficult to lend credence to some statements which I 
12 



134 MEMOIR OF EEV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

could make to you from knowledge and observation. Yesterday, 
a communication was received from generous, sympathizing Bal- 
timore, offering to convey the entire remaining and surviving 
population of Norfolk and Portsmouth to any salubrious point 
that might be selected, or could be obtained by them ; and like- 
wise guaranteeing to them, so long as they might be. there de- 
tained, all things in the way of provisions, furniture, bedding, 
etc., which they should stand in need of. The very fact sug- 
gests some idea of the horrors of our position. But I fear the 
offer can not be accepted. There is no inhabitated house without 
yellow-fever patients, whom it would be hazardous to remove. 
And the well could not be spared, for they are even now far too 
few to take care of the sick. And then, people can not run away 
themselves, and leave their servants to suffer and die. I have 
one suggestion to make, that in every city and town they 
wake up and try to respond to the dictates of humanity and 
Christian sympathy, by introducing the calamity of these their 
sister cities into their desks and pulpits ; that they cry mightily 
unto God for us ; that they satisfy themselves, if need require, 
as to the facts of the unparalleled miseries of our communities ; 
that they appoint seasons of special humiliation and prayer for 
the commending of our case to a merciful God. Can you not, as 
a suggestion coming from me, stir up the Christian congregations 

of , to their duty to themselves, to their country, and their 

God, in this respect ?" 



41 Portsmouth, Sept 6th, 1855. 
11 My Dear J: I have your sweet and consoling letter. It reached 
me last night, only a few hours after I had received Bro. Dame's 
second letter. May God fully sanctify to me His painful visitations. 
I can not express to you the grateful sense I entertain of the kind- 
ness of you all to the departed. Thank Bro. Dame for his truly 
soothing and sympathizing letters. 



LETTERS. 135 

" The horrors of pestilence, both here and in Norfolk, continue 
without abatement. The lives of the few who remain in town, 
in the enjoyment of health, and they are very, very few, hang in 
doubt before them. * * * J. C." 



To his Sister. 

" Portsmouth Sept. 1th, 1855, Friday Morn. 
11 My Dear Anne : The inclosed scrap from the Richmond Dis- 
patch, [he here means the notice of dear little Johnnie's death,] 
which some kindly sympathizing soul has penned and then sent on 
to me by mail, tells its own sad story. He ceased to breathe last 
Friday night, the 31st instant. 'I was dumb, I opened not my 
mouth because Thou didst it 1' 'He hath done all things well !' 
1 Blessed be the name of the Lord.' The word and spirit of God 
teach me to adopt these utterances, and I trust they come from 
my heart. No tongue can tell the accumulated and still gather- 
ing horrors of our situation here. I am at the post of duty, and 
in the hands of the Lord. But be prepared for any intelligence, 
for our lives hang in doubt before us from hour to hour. I still 

view with grieved amazement, the apathy of at woes to 

which human history can scarcely present a parallel. All the 

notice which the press there has taken of our case, as far 

as I have heard, is the promulgation in one or more papers of a 
cruel falsehood, namely, that the Protestant ministers had, in a 
body, deserted their post of duty, and sought personal safety at 
the approach of danger. 

1 ' Let the touching paragraph inclosed speak for one of them. At 
least two others, Norfolk ministers, labored until they could stand 
no longer, and are now 'where the wicked cease from troubling, and 
the weary are at rest.' Another of our Protestant ministers of 
Portsmouth is the poor, enfeebled wreck of one of the finest con- 
stitutions that you will meet with. But he is convalescent, and 



138 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

God can and I believe will give him back his physical energies. 
Another who has been ' in season and out of season,' is now pros- 
trated, perhaps upon the bed of death. This morning he made 
his final bequests to his devoted family, in regard to every earthly 
matter. The ears of every individual in the community, where 
such misrepresentations have been promulgated and listened to, 
ought to be made to tingle. I do not say that every ministei 
among us has stood at his post; but such as have left can doubt- 
less assign a reason for their course ; and what right have those 
to sit in judgment upon them, who would not touch the burden 
of our agony, miseries, and despair, with their little fingers ? Let 
the members of our truth-loving family make these things known. 
There lies a schooner at our wharf; the first, I believe, that has 

entered the harbor for six weeks. She is from . Her 

freight is ice, which article is absolutely necessary to our dying 
community, not only as a momentary relief from the quenchless 
fire of fever, but as a medicine. But she is selling the article at a 
reasonable profit. This is the first commodity too, that has been 
even sold to us, for the period I have specified."* 

* The following is the paragraph referred to, from the Richmond Dispatch : 
"Eev. Anthony Dibrell.— 2 he South Side Democrat pays a warm tri- 
bute to the memory of the Eev. Anthony Dibrell, late pastor of Granby-Street 
Methodist Church, Norfolk, who fell a martyr to his sense of duty to Religion 
and Humanity. The Democrat says : * Ever since the fever commenced its 
ravages, Mr. Dibrell has been untiring in his ministrations at the bed of afflic- 
tion, breathing consolation to the distressed and soothing the passage of his 
people to the grave. Like a faithful and affectionate shepherd, he deserted 
not his flock, but with a Christian fortitude and a Christian charity he exerted 
every energy of his nature, in season and out of season, until the fell destroy- 
er, with remorseless grasp, seized its pious prey, and consigned him to the 
gloom of the grave. We knew Anthony Dibrell— knew him long and well. 
He was the loveliest specimen of Christian character we ever saw. Every one 
who was acquainted with this man of God, loved him with a tenderness and 
a devotion as deep as it was disinterested.'' " 



LETTERS. 187 

Some allowance must be made for the strong 
expressions in these letters arising more from a 
jealous regard to the fame of the places which the 
original letter referred to, than from a real doubt 
of their sympathy. Besides, we must allow for the 
want of accurate information in this time of an 
embargo of pestilence. 

The public meetings held afterwards, the deep 
expressions of sympathy, and the substantial con- 
tributions sent on for the relief of the sufferers, show 
that it was not for want of heart-felt sympathy, so 
much as from a want of full information that this 
apparent apathy existed. No ! let us thank God 
the Father of our compassionate Saviour, for the 
noble, Christian-like spirit which this event has 
elicited in our whole country. It is characteristic 
of Christ our Saviour, that He never passed afflic- 
tion and sickness without relieving it— physical 
suffering. The imitation of His high example is 
the spirit of Christianity in this respect. Where 
Christ is, there is a self-sacrificing humanity. 



12* 



138 MEMOIR OF KEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

The Pestilence — Death of his Second Son — Interesting Incident 
of Same — Effect upon Mr. C.'s Spirits — 111 Effects of Agitation 
in Times of Sickness — Lines on the Death of his Son — His 
Last "Writing — Death — Letter of E. A. Hatton. 

The Great Being who prepares those whom He 
loves for their great change, had in store for him 
further chastening. The second son, Johnny, never 
recovered from an attack of the measles* Mr. Chis- 
holm's letters through the spring and summer of 
1855, show his fears ; and the deafness and wast- 
ing of the child, justified them. The mother was 
spared this affliction, for the attack of the measles 
came on after her departure. Hope still clung to 
this little one on the part of the father, but it will 
be seen to have been unfounded ; his death pre- 
ceded his father's but a few days, at the close of 
the summer, in the house of an uncle, and under 
the care of relatives that spared no pains, no 
watchings, no prayers for his recovery. 

In the foregoing letters of the month of Sep- 



DEATH OF HIS SECOND SON. 139 

tember, lie refers to the death of little Johnny, 
who died on Friday night, August 31st. There 
was something which occurred so remarkable in 
his death, that some friend in Cumberland county 
published an account of it. We subjoin the brief 
article taken from the Richmond Enquirer: 

"An Interesting- Child. — 'Little Johnny,' as he was famil- 
iarly and affectionately known m the circle at home, a younger 
son of the Rev. James Chisholm, of St. John's Church, Ports- 
mouth, died at the residence of his uncle, Thomas Paige, Esq., in 
Cumberland county, a few days since, in the fifth year of his age. 
It is a source of consolation to know, says the writer of his obit- 
uary, that every attention was paid to the little sufferer, and that 
his pillow was smoothed by kindred friends who deeply sympa- 
thize with his only surviving parent. His last moments were 
quiet ; the storm had subsided to a peaceful calm ; unconscious 
of surrounding objects, his mind wandered to the spirit of his 
departed mother. Fixing his eye, and pointing significantly in 
a corresponding direction, he exclaimed, ' There is my Mamma, 
and his an°;el soul winged its flight to heaven."* 



* Those who were with him, relate that he had not spoken for hours, and 
they could hardly tell whether he was living, so utterly unconscious did he 
Beem. He turned his face around, and they thought it was a falling over of 
his head, and replaced it, with his face upwards : again he turned his face^ 
pointed with his little wasted finger, and made the exclamation, " There is 
my mamma," and died instantly. It was on this last day of August that his 
friend in Martinsburg wrote to Mr. Chisholm a letter, to which his letter of 
September 5th is a reply, and ventured to suggest the consoling thought that 
though the father might not be present to see him die, yet the sainted and 
departed mother might then be present to carry his spirit to spirit-land. lie 
answers that he knows nothing in this idea contrary to his faith. In writing 



140 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

It is an established fact that in these pestilences 
nothing tends more surely to excite and to aggra- 
vate the disorder, than mental agitation, espe- 
cially fear, and also despondency, or any depres- 



his obituary for the Martinsburg paper, bis friend remarked upon the con- 
temporaneousness of this trust, so strongly expressed in bis letter of the 5th, 
and the circumstance of " Little Johnny's" death : " These lines were penned 
by him immediately after reading the letter from Cumberland announcing, 
the death of his child. That little one in dying seemed to have vouchsafed 
to his dying vision, the evidence of * things unseen 1 by the father. * * * 
The wise men of the world would call this a ' singular coincidence :' Christ- 
ians do not reject God's providence, even in the fall of a sparrow." 

LINES 

Written upon reading the account of the Death of the Rev. Mr. Chisholm, 
" Church Journal? September 27. 

They told him that his gentle boy 

"Was on his death-bed lying ; 
They bade him speed— his tender bud 

Was drooping, withering, dying. 

One moment of deep agony 

Passed o'er his pallid brow ; 
Then spoke the saint : " My post is here— 

I may not leave it now. 

" O God ! the God in whom I trust, 
Be with my stricken flower : 
Hear thou my prayer— oh ! bless my child, 
In this his dyiDg-hour. 

" And if the spirits of the blest 
Extend their guardian care 
To those they loved below, oh ! grant 
A sorrowing father's prayer. 



LINES. 141 

sion of spirits. Nothing, on the other hand, is 
more conducive to safety than calmness, self-pos- 
session, and cheerfulness even. The singular 
gayety, even levity, sometimes seeming so out of 
place in physicians, nurses, and friends of the sick, 



" May she whose gentle blessing first 
"Was pressed upon his brow, 
In this, his last and mortal hour, 
Be with my darling now." 

Oh ! precious is the Christian's trust, 

And never was it known 
To fail the humble faith of one 

Who claims it for his own. 

***** 

The little form is fading fast, 

And the fixed glazing eye 
Is upward turned — the parting lips 

Breathe the short, frequent sigh. 

"When lo ! a ray of rapturous light 

Kindles on lip and eye ; 
A vision bright is passing there — 

A form beloved is nigh. 

Listen ! the pallid lips unclose, 
The arms are raised on high ; 

The prayer of faith is heard— she comes 
To bear him to the sky. 

" There is my mother !" All is o'er ; 
Press down the darkened eye : 
Dust to its kindred dust: the soul 
Is with its God on high. 



142 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

is not merely a reaction of the feelings, but often 
an effort of nature to avoid that provocation of 
attack. Eegularity in diet, sleeping, and exercise 
are important ; but above all, an humble but firm 
trust in God — a perfect conviction "that He or- 
dereth all things right." It is wonderful how this 
will sometimes disarm the foe, when ten thousand 
are falling at our right hand. But Death cometh 
in like an armed man upon those who yield to 
alarm. 

It is apparent that up to the death of his son, 
Mr. Chisholm possessed his soul in patience ; his 



The prayer of faith is wafted on, 

And God, in pitying love, 
Has sent to bear the stricken one 

To his bright home above. 

Plague-smitten martyr, near thy bed, 
Unseen by mortal eye, 

Are waiting those she loved on earth- 
To bear thee up on high. 

And holy lips are breathing now ; 
"Servant of God well done : 
Well hast thou fought the glorious fight, 
Bravely the victory won. 

" Heaven's golden portals open wide ; 
Enter thy glorious rest ; 
The martyr's crown awaits thy brow, 
Oh ! sorely tried and blest 1" 
New-York, October 7, 1855. E. 



LETTER TO BEY. C. J. GIBSON. 143 

letters, numbers of which, lie before us, all show 
this. There is a limit beyond which any nature 
must give way. The tone of his letters from that 
time, is manifestly changed. In spite of all his 
efforts to shut out the sad image of his dying child, 
his heart and strength failed him ; the wail of his 
wounded spirit is heard amidst the calm details of 
his holy labors with the sick and dying ; the rest 
of the quiet bed-chamber, the tranquillizing effect 
of the social meal, the holy refreshment of even 
secret prayer, were all saddened by the abiding 
sorrow of heart caused by the taking away of all 
hope of recovery, by the death of his son. 

The following letter, addressed to a brother 
clergyman, the Eev. 0. J. Gibson, on the day of 
his reception of the tidings of his son's death, is 
so beautiful an instance of the progress and the 
rapidity of that process of ripening for his Master's 
kingdom, that it is proper to insert it here ; the 
last sentence is especially indicative of this : 

" Portsmouth, Wednesday, September 5, 1855. 

" My Beloyed Brother : I can but give you a line in re- 
sponse to your most tender and comforting letter, but I will not 
withhold that line. 

"The same mail that brought yours to-day, has brought me the 
announcement for which I had so little prepared myself, though 



14 i MEMOIR OF BEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

admonished ; that my sweet child has been taken from suffering 
to his Saviour's everlasting rest, and the companionship of his 
mother. No passage in your letter, or in any letter I have re- 
ceived, has touched me so much as your allusion to my dear 
children, my only earthly treasure, and I had almost said, my all 
of earthly happiness. My Heavenly Father has been pleased to 
put to rest for ever each busy thought of solicitude or of earthly 
hope, in regard to one of them, which I had been wont to cher- 
ish, and strange to say, it seems as if the our den were lifted off my 
heart, in regard to the other. ,} 

On the seventh of September, surrounded by 
the objects of his once happy home, the me- 
mentos of the departed wife and child, bis house- 
hold Penates lying shattered around him, he 
calmly penned this his last epistle, and before he had 
time to affix his signature to it, he was called away 
to officiate at the funeral of a young girl. The 
fatal precursory chill seized him while he was re- 
peating the solemn funeral service of the Church, 
standing on the edge of the open grave. He was 
taken by his own request to the Naval Hospital, 
and though many yearning hearts hoped that he 
might be spared, this was not to be. He had held 
his post until the plague was staid ; he had stood 
at the gate of the valley and shadow of death, to 
cheer and stay up the heart of every comer, and 
then when nearly all had entered, he went in him- 



LETTER TO JOHN W. PAGE, JR. 145 

self, alone. The following was forwarded to John 
"W". Page, Jr., Esq., after the death of the writer : 

" My Beloved Brother : A burthen has for some weeks been 
resting on my mind. As it seems manifest that this remorseless 
pestilence will spare none — as there is scarcely an individual of 
my acquaintance who remains here, but has been attacked, or is 
now prostrated by it, or has been hurried into the world of spirits 
— I feel that I ought to say to some near friend, what, in one 
event, which is possible, I might not have opportunity to say. I 
would say in regard to myself, should no opportunity be vouch- 
safed me to make the declaration, that I now, as in utter uncer- 
tainty as to the result, place my entire and exclusive trust as a 
conscious sinner, by nature and by practice, guilty, condemned, 
and helpless, in the merits of Jesus Christ, G-od my Saviour. 
That I look back upon my past life with sorrow and shame, when 
I remember how unworthily and unfaithfully it has been spent. 
That nothing affords me comfort and peace at this solemn season, 
but that true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, that 
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am 
the chief. That my convictions, and emotions, and hopes, in ap- 
proaching Him, as my refuge against the accusations of con- 
science, and the fear of death and judgment, find expression in 
the words of that hymn whose first and final verses are these : 

* Just as I am ! without one plea, 
Save that Thy blood was shed for me, 
And that thou bidd'st me come to thee, 

O Lamb of God ! I come. 
****** 

* Just as I am ! Thy love unknown, 
Has broken every barrier down : 
Now to be thine and thine alone, 

O Lamb of God ! I come/ 

13 



146 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

And in regard to my dear and now only child, "Willie, I have to 
say, that should I be taken from him at this season, I have only 
a few hundred dollars, not perhaps more than five, wherewith to 
make provision for his earthly wants, and nurture of body and 
mind. (In my account-book, which will be put into the hands 
of Mr, A. H., I have made, I believe, a full and correct statement 
of my financial matters.) I leave the provision for his wants 
and the disposal of his earthly lot, entirely in the hands of Jlim 
who says to me : ' Leave with me thy fatherless children.' On 
this head, I strive to put away all solicitude, arising out of tho 
fact that I have not been able to lay up any thing adequate to- 
wards his support until he should be of an age to maintain him- 
self by his exertions. I am only anxious about the welfare of 
his soul. Should he live, I desire that, if possible, he should be 
trained by some truly pious and prayerful friend, to the fear of 
God and the love of Christ his Saviour. I would have him raised 
and educated in affectionate preference for, and attachment to, 
the doctrines and usages of my own beloved Protestant Episco- 
pal Church, as held by the evangelical portion of the Church ; 
who, according to my own convictions, alone hold the true and 
correct views of the Church, and in their practice fairly represent 
her distinctive spirit. I would have him trained to be obedient, 
diligent, and truthful ; strictly economical in every particular, and 
yet benevolent in feeling, generous in action towards others. In 
the choice of companions and associates, I would have him ever 
guided, on principle, by those first chapters of the Book of Pro- 
verbs, which he has already committed to memory. Above all 
things, it is my desire that it may please Glod to endue his mind 
and prepare his heart for the meet exercise of the Christian 
ministry, and to incline his heart to make choice of this vocation. 
In the event of my removal, will you bo so kind as to commu- 
nicate these my sentiments and wishes to the members of my 



LETTER OF MR. E. A. HATT0N. 147 

own and J 's family ? The rest I leave to their concurrent 

discretion and arrangement." 

The reader lias now but to be introduced to the 
chamber where this good man met his fate. It 
was a ward of the Naval Hospital. I have the 
privilege of giving them this detail, in a letter 
written to his wife's sister, by one who loved him 
like a brother ; whose house was his home during 
the greater part of those fearful two months; 
whose name will ever be associated in Portsmouth 
with Mr. Chisholm's, for his noble disinter- 
estedness, courage, and humanity, during that 
dark time. We know that others besides this 
excellent young man deserve that praise which 
truth accords to heroism, but being so especially 
connected with Mr. Chisholm for years, and to 
the end of his life, by the ties of dear friendship, 
founded upon the fact in part that he joined the 
Church under his ministry, I give the account of 
the last eight days of his life, his death and burial, 
in the words of Mr. Edward Alexander Hatton, 
of Portsmouth : 

" Sunny Side, Sept l&th, 1855. 
"My Dear M. and J.: In a short note on Sunday last, I com- 
municated the mournful tidings of the death of our beloved bro- 
ther — for I feel as if he were my brother — and promised to give 



148 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

you a more detailed account, after I had recruited a little. On 
Friday, the Tth inst., he went to town as usual, with either my 
brother or Dr. M., and at 4 p.m. I went for him, as I was accus- 
tomed to do. Upon arriving at Waverly, which was our rendez- 
vous, he was not there, but had left a message for me to wait, as 
he had gone to bury Mrs. S.'s child. In about ten minutes he re- 
turned, and said he thought he had a chill, and asked me to look 
at his hands, which were rather pale, and cool. He said he had 
felt faint while at prayer, and thought he had better go immedi- 
ately to the hospital. After some consultation I determined to 
drive him down and consult the doctor as to whether he had bet- 
ter remain or not. "We went down and found Dr. M. there, and 
he thought Mr. C. had better remain; so I saw Dr. M., who imme- 
diately had him placed in a comfortable room, and after seeing 
him snugly fixed, I bade him good night, and told Dr. M. that if 
I could be of any service to him to let me know. He said he 
thought for the present I had better not be with him, as he could 
not have any thing to eat for several days, and quiet and freedom 
from all excitement were most essential in every case of this dis- 
ease. I however sent one of our best men to attend him, and I " 
went down every day, though I only saw him once, until Mon- 
day, when the doctor thought I could be of service, as his fever 
had broken and he could take food. I immediately went to his 
room, and finding that he fancied frozen arrow-root, proceeded 
to the kitchen, and prepared some myself, putting prepared chalk 
in, with the doctor's approbation. During the preceding night 
a gentleman had been placed in the room with Mr. Chisholm, as 
the rooms were all occupied; but as another patient had just been 
discharged, and this gentleman had become delirious, and I 
thought would disturb Mr. Chisholm, I asked the doctor, and he 
immediately had him removed into the room vacated by Mr. C. R., 
which was rather more airy, and only a few steps distant. From 



LETTER OF MR. E. A. HATTON. 149 

this time I remained with him, administering his nourishment (at 
this time he took no medicine) with my own hand. Besides ar- 
row-root, he had, as he might prefer, boiled milk, chicken- 
soup, tea, and once coffee, and chicken-jelly, which I had made 
at home. But he preferred the arrow-root frozen, with a little 
port wine, to any thing else ; and every morning I made a little 
more than a pint, which lasted four hours. He was quite cheer- 
ful, though the doctor had positively forbidden him to talk at all, 
and had desired him to keep as still as possible for fear of irritat- 
ing his stomach and inducing black vomit. For that reason I 
talked very little with him, but frequently washed his face, head, 
and hands with ice-water with a little aromatic vinegar in it, 
which was very grateful to him. His mind, however, in my 
opinion, was not entirely clear, except at intervals, during his ill- 
ness. Ho would, after sleeping, call me and ask the most out-of- 
the way questions, and after a little seem to recover himself and 
then say: 'Z., is it you?' 

"On Thursday I thought he was doing remarkably well; though, 
as I always wrote you, I could only speak for the moment ; and 
on Friday morning I also thought him improving, as he took a 
great quantity of nourishment, and retained it all without the 
slightest difficulty. About 2 p.m. on Friday a change took place, 
and he asked for champagne, which was given him ; and he acted 
in rather a strange manner I thought. He continued to grow 
worse, and at 2 p.m. the doctor said there was no hope for him. 
I immediately informed him of his situation, and did it as gently 
as possible. For a moment he was much prostrated, but after I 
had laved his head with ice- water, he recovered and said: 'He had 
hoped it would please God to spare his life, but he was perfectly 
resigned to His will and prepared for the change.' He asked 
me to read the hymn commencing, 'Rise my soul,' which I did, 
and read several others for him, and also repeated several portions 
13* 



150 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

of Scripture, and made a quotation from one of Mr. C.'s letters, 
namely, ' That it was merely a question of time with him, how 
long he was a probationer in this world.' He said : ' Yes, dear 
Mr. C, how much pleasure his letters have given me, and how 
they have buoyed me up, and encouraged me to proceed in my 
labors.' During all this time, I had to keep his head wet with 
ice-water, frequently renewed, and speak to him frequently, as 
his brain was becoming more and more implicated every moment. 
I then asked if he had any messages for his friends, an dhe said : 
' I have committed my feelings and views to writing,' (he gave them 
to me the day he was attacked, and requested me to forward them 
to your brother J., which I did yesterday,) ' but say to them that for 
the last eight days I have been the object of intense solicitude 
with the surgeons and attendants at this hospital, the best estab- 
lishment in the United States, and have received the utmost kind- 
ness and attention from them.' I then asked if he had no other 
message for you ; but his mind was giving way rapidly, and he 
said: 'I can not now, I wish to go to sleep.' Finding it impossi- 
ble to get him to say any more, I advised him to go to sleep, and 
he said, sweetly: 'He giveth His beloved sleep;' and turned over 
and immediately dozed off. I now commenced stimulating him 
with brandy, champagne, carb.-ammonia, and externally with 
mustard and capsicum, but he continued to sink, and at 6 A.M., 
on Saturday morning he swallowed with so much difficulty that I 
stopped giving him any thing. He then slept quietly until 2-§ p.m., 
having taken 35 drops laudanum, when he awoke, and seemed 
rather better. I immediately washed his mouth with a towel 
wet with ice-water and vinegar, and called the doctor, who said 
he would try again. Ho gave him soup, brandy, champagne, 
carb.-ammonia, and for a few minutes it seemed as if he would 
rally ; but we soon found out that it was only the last eifort of 



LETTER OF MR. E. A. HATTOK. 151 

Nature, and lie gradually grew weaker and colder until 20 min- 
utes to 10 p.m., when he expired. 

11 After his death, he was dressed in a full suit of black, with 
white cravat, and at 12 m. on Sunday we buried him, very plainly 
but decently, by her whom he so much loved. I wrote to Rev. Mr. 
Jackson, who saw him during his sickness, desiring him, if possi- 
ble, to officiate. He was, however, unable to do so, and the Rev. 
Mr. Hume, of the Baptist Church, came down of his own accord, 
and most kindly read our service over him. There were some 20 
persons at the grave, which at this time, when people are buried, 
and nobody present but the hearse-driver, and the grave-digger, is 
quite a large collection. The physicians at the hospital were 
very much attached to him and deeply regretted his death. Dr. 
Minor remarked to me: ' That such a man was a walking sermon.' 
I have his valise and key, the key of a trunk, his wedding-ring, 
and cuff-buttons, and his pocket-comb, which I thought Willie 
would like to have. I also saved a lock of his hair, which you can 
take if you think prudent. His pocket-book is also in my poses- 
sion. I have some 20 or 25 letters, most of which I have an- 
swered, they being business ones. I have written to his broth- 
er, to J. P., Mr. A., and Mr. C. He wrote a letter to J., in 
which he expressed his wishes and feelings, the day ho was 
taken ill, and handed it to me at the hospital, when he was pre- 
paring for bed, desiring me to read it and forward it. Hop- 
ing he would recover, I deferred sending it until yesterday, and 
for fear it might be lost, I retained a copy of it. The doctor con- 
sidered his case rather a strange one ; and I think that Johnnie's 
death preyed much upon his mind, which was one of the cau- 
ses of his brain being so soon affected. During his whole illness 
he never had the slightest nausea, and retained every thing lie 
took, and he took a great quantity of nourishment for a fever pa- 
tient, but it seemed to do him no good. The worst symptom was 



152 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

an unconquerable diarrhoea, which nothing would check ; which 
was part of his disease ; but it is rather strange his stomach did 
not seem to sympathize with the disease of the bowels. Tou may- 
rest assured that every thing that human skill could do was done ; 
for the doctors were most assiduous in their attentions, visiting 
him every two or three hours during the day and several times dur- 
ing the night ; and I always called them if any new symptom 
appeared or any change took place. Most of his nourishment I 
prepared myself, and administered every dose of medicine and all 
nourishment with my own hand; and from Monday until Saturday 
night, I only slept ten hours. I am confident that no one has had 
better attention. I do not mention this as if I deserved any cre- 
dit, but merely to let you know that he was well taken care of. 
He has gone to his reward. It is true he has died of the fever, from 
ministering to the spiritual wants and necessities of others ; but 
much as I loved him, and much as I shall miss him, I would ra- 
ther he should be where he is, and know he has fallen like a good 
and true soldier of Jesus Christ, with his armor on, battling for 
his King, than have had him survive by deserting his post in the 
time of danger and necessity, or when he was most wanted. 
Few will miss him more than myself. But God has called him 
and I strive to be resigned to His will, knowing that 'He doeth 
all things well,' and that ' He doth not willingly afflict the sons 
of men.'" 



INCIDENTS OF CHARACTER. 153 



CHAPTEE XIV. 

Account of Mr. Chisholm by his Sister-in-law — Further Incidents 
of Character — His Purpose to remain in Portsmouth under 
any Circumstances considered — False reports of Protestant 
Ministers — Thoughts on their Course as compared with that 
of Roman Catholics — Reasons why Ministers from Other 
Places do not volunteer their Services — Conclusion. 

"We have now, most imperfectly, sketched the 
earthly course of our friend. We have followed 
him through his youth, his student and ministerial 
life, seen him faithful unto death, and laid in 
the tomb where, amidst those whom he served, he 
will await the resurrection of the just. 

" For ever with the Lord — 
Amen ! so let it be ! 
Life from the dead its iii the word— 
Tis immortality." 

We do not regret the occurrence of a few addi- 
tional thoughts, appropriate to a conclusion, as 
they will detain us a little longer in his company. 
The following extract from a letter, written by a 
sister of Mrs. Chisholm to her brother, which 



154 MEMOIR OF BEV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

contains a grapMc sketch, of his domestic and pas- 
toral life, will be read with interest, even more 
from the fact that it was not designed for publica- 
tion: 

"I would speak of his private character as a Christian, in the 
most intimate connections of life, in his family, where I knew 
him well, and of which for some time I was a member. I never 
knew of one who came so near my idea of what a Christian 
ought to be ; every part of the character so beautifully blended, 
and formiDg ' the highest style of man.' * The peace of God, 
which passeth all understanding,' was shed abroad in his heart, 
which nothing seemed to disturb ; at the same time he had the 
deepest sense of his sinfulness and unworthiness in the sight of 
God. Dear Jane told me once that she had never known him in 
the least depressed, except when speaking of his sins and short- 
comings, and then she had seen him weep bitterly. She also 
mentioned that shortly after their marriage, she was deeply af- 
fected at finding a little book of his, on Self-Examination, worn 
by constant use, and marked, and pasted, and patched together. 
Well do I remember his gentle, manly deportment at all times, in 
his family and among his parishioners, and towards every body ; 
and how in walking with him he would greet so many with a 
kind and gracious word, or smile of recognition, that I would ex- 
claim : ' Who is it that you don't know ?' When we would go 
out with him to spend the day or evening, I have remarked his 
manner and conversation as just what that of a man of God 
ought to be ; while the countenances of young and old, the child 
of the world as well as the Christian, spoke the pleasure they 
felt when he came in ; all paid him the respect due to his pro- 
fession and character; and before he would leave, he would in the 
most quiet, unobtrusive manner ask to have family prayers, and 



DOMESTIC AND PASTORAL LIFE. 155 

frequently close the evening with sacred music. He was re- 
markably systematic in every thing. Rising up early, he would 
kindle his own fire, bathe freely in cold water, play merrily with 
the children, go to market, walk usually several miles, and spend 
some time in his study, before breakfast, and come in to family 
prayer in the brightest and happiest frame. He economized his 
time so as never to seem hurried or disturbed by interruption. 
The time that he could spare from devotional or ministerial la- 
bors, was spent in ministering to the comfort and pleasure of his 
family, in delightful conversation, in reading, walking, or visiting 
with them. No weather kept him from taking his regular exer- 
cise or visiting his parishioners. I have often known him to come 
in at night when the rain was pouring down, (when we thought 
lie was in his study, and that those who were not obliged to be 
out were housed,) and tell us of some interesting circumstance 
connected with visits he had been paying. 

"In the relation of husband and father, I never knew one 
more exemplary, always tender, loving, and affectionate, antici- 
pating every want, as far as his circumstances would allow. J. 
told me, several years after they were married, that there never 
had been the 'shadow of a shade' between them. In a most 
striking manner was his tenderness and faitlifulness in this rela- 
tion manifested to all who saw him during the last few months 
of her life. Though his natural buoyancy of spirit kept him from 
realizing her danger, and he hoped constantly that she would re- 
cover, all noticed his untiring efforts, day and night, to minister 
relief and comfort. Often would he come in, looking the picture 
of love and good-humor, producing something that he had bought 
for her. He was constant in reading to her the Bible, and other 
good books, particularly 'The "Words of Jesus,' and 'Melvill's 
Lectures.' "When he had prayers in her room, so touching and 
appropriate were his remarks and his manner that all in the room 



156 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

would be melted to tears. I thought, as I stood with him be- 
side her sick-bed, during the last few days of her life, that if 
there were any of those whose privilege it was to be there, who 
had doubted the truth and preciousness of religion, they would 
doubt no more. There she lay, though suffering intensely, the 
picture of meekness and submission, mourning over her sinful- 
ness and short-comings, yet strong in Christ as her sure hope ; 
and pointing, to those who had not made their peace with God, 
to Him for pardon and peace, and urging those who professed 
His name to 'live nearer to God,' to be 'Bible Christians.' And 
there was lie, almost broken down with fatigue and distress, at 
one time, with trembling voice praying and singing hymns to 
her ; at another time administering the communion — and ever 
pouring into her ear the blessed consolations of religion. The 
closing scene was in character with all that had gone before. A 
short time before her death — we had been singing hymns, ' Jesus, 
Saviour of my soul,' 'We'll try to prove faithful,' 'All is well,' 
and 'How firm a foundation' — her soul seemed filled with devo- 
tion. After we had finished the verse, ' The soul that to Jesus 
hath fled for repose,' she looked at him in the most earnest man- 
ner and said : ' Mr. Chisholm 1 is there such a thing as having 
too much confidence in Jesus, and not thinking enough of our 
own sins ?' He answered her that there wa3 not, and asked her 
if she had this confidence. She said : ' Yes, perfect confidence — 
perfect confidence.' It seemed to be the last triumph over the 
enemy, at the very gate of heaven. I stood with him there to 
catch the last word, to hear the last 'gentle sigh,' and with him 
left the chamber of death. The first sound that broke in upon 
its stillness, was the voice of that stricken man of God saying : 

* One gentle sigh — the fetter breaks, 
We scarce can say she's gone, 
Before her willing spirit took 
Its station near the throne ;' 



DOMESTIC AND PASTORAL LIFE. 157 

and comforting us with the truths that were sustaining his own 
heart. He dwelt much that night on the love of God to us, dis- 
played even in our afflictions ; said that it seemed to him that 
ours was in that respect like the family at Bethany ; that where 
we had to mourn the loss of so many, we had the assurance that 
they were all saved. This, as he said, was his first real grie£ 
He reproached himself much because he had not realized more 
than he had her situation, and done more for her, while we 
thought that it was beyond the power of man to do more. The 
cemetery became now more attractive than any other place ; 
scarcely a day passed that he did not visit it. I often went witi. 
him there, and the morning of the day that we left Portsmouth, 
before breakfast, M. and J. went with him to visit this spot, and 
he took out of his pocket a little book of sacred poems, and read 
some of her favorite pieces, and wept as he read. He was seen 
by some one, a day or two before he was taken sick, weeping at 
her grave. He was always a most devoted father, and had the 
happiest way of teaching his children, at all times, by talking to 
and questioning them, and making every thing interesting. 
"Willie loves to think and talk of the time spent in the study, and 
says he never was so happy as when he was at the study with 
his papa. Particularly anxious did he seem that their minds 
might be imbued with God's spirit, that they might early be 
made His children. The servants shared largely in our dear 
brother's care and consideration ; all that have lived with him, 
loved him. He never forgot their wants or failed to provide 
bountifully for them. If there was to be any exhibition in town 
that he considered harmless, and that they would be interested 
in, he would furnish them with money to attend it. At the be- 
ginning of the year he hired an old woman for a cook, who, 
though faithful at her work, had a most violent temper and 
tongue, and consequently said and did pretty much as she 

14 



158 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

pleased. No one would have thought that ' Aunt Amy ' had 
any feeling of tenderness ; but when little Willie would go in the 
kitchen and 'preach' to her and 'mammy,' the old woman would 
actually be brought with tears to her knees. She saw so much 
that was lovely in his father, and received so many kind words 
of advice and warning from him, that she was forced to say, 
' there must be something in religion.' The night after our dear 
Jane's funeral, some one had called in to see us. "We missed Mr. 
Chisholm from the parlor, and after a while he came in and took 
his seat by sister S. and told her that he had been in the kitchen 
talking to 'Aunt Amy' about her soul, and that he found in her 
a strange mixture of Christianity and heathenism. 

"As a Pastor \ I can testify to his faithfulness. All felt indeed, 
' that this is a holy man of God that passeth by us continually.' 
' He was instant in season and out of season.' He went about 
doing good. He loved his people, and many, many were the 
manifestations of their love to him, which he often spoke of with 
gratitude. Last winter I heard him say, when speaking of the 
kindness of his people, that he would like to end his days and 
be buried among them. He not only labored himself, but did 
every thing in his power to encourage others in labors of love. 
When the sewing-society met on Monday, the members were 
animated in their work and schemes by the cheering presence 
and suggestions of their pastor. When the ladies' prayer-meet- 
ing met, on the afternoon of the same day, he would often go 
with us and conduct the meeting, or come in and close the exer- 
cises with some pointed and practical remarks and suitable 
hymns. The next afternoon we spent at the study, listening to 
his instructive explanation of Gospel truth. He generally gave 
the lessons, the Collects, Epistles, and Gospels for the follow- 
ing Sunday, to be studied for questions, and one of the thirty- 
nine articles to be committed to memory. This Bible-class meet- 



DOMESTIC AND PASTORAL LIFE. 159 

ing was always opened with prayer, for the illumination of 
God's spirit, that we might be enabled ' to hear, read, mark, learn, 
and inwardly digest' these truths, and bring forth the fruits of 
them. The evening of the same day was set apart for lectures 
at the private houses. At this meeting he generally used a part 
of our Church service, and extempore prayers, read a chapter or 
part of a chapter, and stood with the book in his hand, and ex- 
plained and made application of it suitable to those whom he 
addressed. All these meetings (and particularly the last) were 
attended by members of other congregations, and he always tar- 
ried awhile to speak kind words to each one. In this as well as 
in many other ways, he won their hearts. They would urge 
him to visit them, so that he was well known and welcomed in 
families of all denominations. He encouraged also the members 
of the choir, by his regular attendance at their meetings. He 
took the deepest interest in the Sunday-school, and always at- 
tended it. He would go through the church from class to class 
— see what they were learning, and often teach those whose 
teachers happened to be absent. I had in my class a very bright 
and interesting little German boy ; he took a great interest in 
this little fellow, and would come and talk to him in German,, 
and give him lessons and hymns in that language to learn, and 
German tracts to take home with him to his parents. I have 
often wondered if little Charley survived the dread pestilence, 
which swept off so many foreigners, and hoped that his Sunday- 
school instruction may have been blessed to him and his poor 
family at that time. He would then go into the chancel and 
hear the whole school recite the Catechism, and ask questions 
upon it ; then he would sing the hymn with them which they 
had committed to memory, and give them another for the next 
Sunday, and close the school with prayer. I think the hymn 
he gave them the last day we met, was ' Who are these in bright 



160 MEMOIR OF KEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

array ?' etc. On that day he gave them a most interesting ac- 
count of the heathen, their different ways of punishing them- 
selves and doing penance to atone for sin, and got them to sign 
a paper for regular weekly contributions to foreign missions. He 
was well known and beloved by the poor throughout the town. 
He appropriated the communion alms, as well as much from his 
own purse, to their relief. I love to think of the time when I 
used to go with him to visit the poor, and listen as they poured 
their grief into his sympathizing ear. One case particularly in- 
terested me. It was the same poor woman of whom he spoke 
in one of his letters as grieving over the death of her son, during 
the pestilence. Some time ago she was deeply afflicted by the 
death of a child, and to add to her troubles her husband had 
been sent to the penitentiary. Every one else seemed to havo 
given her up, but he visited her often and tried to soothe her sor- 
row; and while her husband was in jail visited him every day, 
and put tracts through the bars of his prison-door. One day 
when he was talking to her, she said to him : ' Mr. Chisholm, the 
only thing that keeps me here is that little spot where my child 
is buried ; and you and your sermons.' The last time our sew- 
ing-society met, the Monday before we left Portsmouth, he gave 
us a word of advice on the importance of recognizing, visiting, 
and encouraging poorer members of the congregation. The sick 
and dying felt it a privilege to hear his exhortations, prayers, 
and hymns. 

"He took a deep interest in the young people of his congrega- 
tions. 'Eeed my lambs,' was an injunction remembered by him. 
If he saw any interest manifested by them in the one thing need- 
ful, he watched it with intense anxiety and followed it up with 
earnest conversations, letters, and prayers. The season of Lent 
was especially a time with him for laboring for the conversion of 
souls. It was his custom during this season to have a meeting 



DOMESTIC AND PASTOKAL LIFE. 161 

at his study, particularly for those who might be anxious about 
their souls. At these meetings he generally sat in his chair and 
talked and reasoned with them, with a solemnity and earnestness 
that showed he felt and realized every word he said, illustrating 
the subject by striking facts. Many look back to these meetings 
and bless God for them, and some of them remember how they 
dreaded the approach of Lent, fearing it would put a stop for 
awhile to their enjoyment, and how a word in season from his lips, 
or his pen had induced them to give up some fondly-anticipated 
gayeties and attend to their weekly meetings ; how an arrow from 
the Almighty's quiver reached their hearts and his gentle persua- 
sions led them to Jesus ; and before the season had passed they 
could say 

4 As by the light of opening day, 

The stars are all concealed ; 
So earthly pleasures fade away, 

When Jesns is revealed.' 

If any went astray from the fold, a kind and gentle reproof or ad- 
monition from him, if it did not turn them from their course, con- 
vinced them that the Lord's table was not the place for them. 
Last Ash-Wednesday came a few days before dear Jane's death. 
He went to his study early in the morning, and staid (except during 
service) most of the day. "When he came in, in the evening, he 
found her more unwell, and reproached himself for staying away 
so long. We found afterwards that he had been engaged in 
writing a letter of advice and warning to a young person in his 
congregation. I remember going to his study the day before the 
Bishop's visit, and finding him with a letter before him, which he 
let me read: it was a solemn letter to two young people — a bro- 
ther and a sister, urging the fulfillment of a promise they had made 
to consecrate themselves to God, and not outwardly before they 
had done it inwardly. Such is a sketch of his manner of life. Ho 

14* 



162 MEMOIR OF BEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

was in readiness for whatever that God whom he served might 
please to send. The same smile played on his countenance when 
the storm raged as in the sunshine. So ready was he even to 
meet the 'pestilence that walketh in darkness/ that when it 
came, though its terrors were great, they were not great enough 
to shake his resolution for a moment to continue to the last with 
any who could not escape. We tried in vain to persuade him to 
allow us to stay with him ; but when, like Paul, he would not be 
persuaded, we said : ' The will of the Lord be done.' He accom- 
panied us as far as Petersburg, and when he turned toward his 
place we followed him as far as the eye could reach, fearing but 
not allowing ourselves to believe that we should see him no more. 

"J. R. P." 

It is quite unnecessary for the author to give a 
formal resume, of Mr. Chisholm's character. The 
work has already been performed for the reader 
by the simple record of his life and death.* In an 

* If the reader will turn to old Chaucer's " Parson of the Towne," and see 
his portraiture of " a good man of religion," he will see how little the lapse 
of five hundred years has changed the lineaments of a faithful Pastor, and he 
will also see how every line of it answers to the subject of this memoir. 

" For rich he was, of holy thought and work ; 
He was also, a learned man — a clerk, 
That Christe's gospel trewely would preach ; 
His parishers devoutly would he teach. 
Benigne he was, and wonder diligent, 
And in adversity, full patient. * * * 

* * * # 

"And tho' he holy were, and virtuous, 
He was to sinf ul men not dispiteous ; 
To drawen folk to Heaven with fairnesse, 
By good ensample was his businesse. 



INCIDENTS OF CHAEACTEE. 163 

affectionate and devoted attachment to tlie Episco- 
pal Church lie was surpassed by none, while of 
the forms of doctrine held in that Church, and the 
importance which he attached to the difference he 
himself put upon record when dressing himself to 
go into the presence of the Lord, Yet never was 
there a more catholic spirit. He could worship 
when necessity called for it, as the preceding narra- 
tive shows, with the Methodists. He defended the 
memory of one of their ministers almost with his 
last breath, and all his Protestant brethren whom 
Komanists have so often calumniated under such cir- 
cumstances, nor did he withhold his hearty com- 
mendation of the faithful Catholic priest. 

With respect to his capacity as a preacher his 
finished and almost elaborate style of rhetoric his 
brethren uniformly spoke in high terms. With 
respect to manner, there was an expression of deep 
reverence in his face, distinctness and earnestness 
in his tones of voice, never at any time absent from 
his public ministrations, which arrested and fixed 
the attention of his audience. And he carried the 



" He waited after neither pomp nor reverence, 
Made for himself no spiced conscience ; 
But Cbriste's love, and bis apostles twelve, 
He taught ; out first, he followed it Jiimselvc? 



164 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

same manner into those services which lie performed 
in tlie houses of the poorest of the people ; and 
impressions were made by those services thus per- 
formed never to be forgotten. A recollection of 
one of them was expressed by the wife of a hard- 
working man (a former parishioner) who had moved 
to the lake country of Ohio, in a letter written 
upon reading a notice of his death in the public 
prints. " The news of his death opened the foun- 
tains of my tears. I wept and wept : old asso- 
ciations came to my mind. "When mother was ill, 
and we all thought she was breathing her last, Mr. 
Chisholm came in. He kneeled by the bed, and 
in a strain of elevation repeated : i Though I walk 
through the dark valley and shadow of death, I will 
fear no evil ; for Thou, God ! art with me.' 
Probably there was no one to do the same kind 
office for him when dying ; but I believe the Angel 
of the Covenant was with him." 

It may have been inferred from some passages 
in this memoir, that Mr. Chisholm was of so meek 
and gentle a nature as to be wanting in firmness. 
He was not indeed always showing his firmness 
about trifles, or when there was no occasion for it ; 
but when the occasion demanded it, he was not 
only firm, but unyielding and courageous ; more 



INCIDENTS OF CHARACTER. 165 

too in others' behalf than in his own. In the last 
and great act of his life some perhaps will think 
that he carried his firmness too far, especially 
when the condition of a child elsewhere would have 
fully justified him to the world for going to attend 
upon his dying-bed. There was also another reason 
which in the public mind would have justified him 
in leaving by perhaps the 25th of August — the fact 
that nearly every one if not every one of his own 
people who had remained were either dead or had 
passed through the fever. But his meekness is not 
more capable of defense than his resolution. The 
Christian pastor is naturally looked to in times of 
trouble not only by his own flock and the Christian 
people generally, but by a great many "other persons. 
Where trouble was, there he was always, if wanted. 
His services, to which some value was attached, 
were in continued demand. Others were absent, 
disabled, or dead. There he was by divine pro- 
vidence, and surely if any were called to continue 
with such as could not leave, and minister to them 
in their distress, he felt it to be himself. He more- 
over found himself in a position where the reputa- 
tion of Protestantism was to be affected by his con- 
duct. In several instances of alarming contagion 
in cities, the report had been spread abroad, (by 



166 MEMOIR OF KEV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

what agency we will not inquire) that the Protest- 
ant clergy had fled. Although in no instance 
had there been more than an example or two — often 
from a large body — to justify the charge, sometimes 
not one. Mr. Ohisholm believed Protestantism to 
be the truth of God, and he would not for his life 
give its enemies an occasion against it. Assuming 
the Protestant and Eomish clergy to be equally 
moved by compassion for the suffering of others, 
and equally willing for their sakes to risk personal 
sufferings and death, there are many reasons 
which always may render it, and sometimes must 
render it a far more elevated moral triumph in the 
Protestant pastor to abide at his post. There is no 
power to compel the Protestant pastor to remain. 
It is a free act on his part. Nor does the creed 
of his Church teach him the necessity of his office 
for shriving and anointing the dying, or minister- 
ing other ecclesiastical passports to heaven. The 
Roman Catholic pastor, moreover, has no domestic 
relations which render his going or staying a matter 
of entire indifference. He has no wife and 
daughters imploring him to leave, and saying that 
if he will not, they will stay and die with him. 
And more than this, under the despotic govern- 
ment of the Romish Church, if the pastpr leaves 



INCIDENTS OF CHARACTER 167 

the place in wliicli he is put without permission, 
he is prostrated and broken by episcopal authority. 
If therefore he would otherwise leave, which we 
neither assert nor would insinuate, he would have 
to choose between the chances of temporal and the 
certainty of ecclesiastical death. 

But it is evident that Mr. Chisholm was also ac- 
tuated by motives of regard for the honor of Christ- 
ianity itself. A censorious world is quick to re- 
proach it in the persons of its ministers.* 

But rather than suffer such a reproach, with or 
without reason, his determination was fixed from 



* We have proof of this in the fact that it is not only demanded of resident 
ministers to remain, bnt that a few even required ministers from abroad to 
volunteer. The question has been asked with a lurking sneer, Why, when 
physicians and nurses, volunteered, no clergymen were found to do4he same ? 
The answer is ready and explicit. A call was made for physicians and nur- 
ses, and (while we do not diminish aught from the praise due to their phi- 
lanthropy) they went for a consideration, the former a high consideration in 
hand, besides the potentiality of fame and fortune. But the clergy bad no spe- 
cial fitness to act as nurses, and there was no call made for extra clerical ser- 
vices, nor was there any reason to beliove that any peculiar opening existed 
for them to preach the Gospel, or otherwise be the means of the conversion of 
souls, but the exact contrary. Had it been announced or believed that 
there were souls in these cities desirous of knowing what they must do to be 
saved, with none to tell them, the history of Christianity in all ages, at home 
and in the prosecution of its missions in pestilential climes, does not leave a 
doubt who would have been first to rush into the imminent deadly breach 
without other reward than the salvation of souls. Neither domestic ties, nor 
parochial contracts or obligations, nor the advertisements for no more to come 
in to swell the numbers to be nursed and buried, would have kept ministers 
of the Gospel from Norfolk and Portsmouth. 



168 MEMOIR OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

the beginning ; nor did lie once waver even when 
lie became convinced that he could not escape the 
common lot. There is not a particle of evidence 
that he staid in deference to public opinion, but 
the contrary ; for his peculiar circumstances gave 
him the opportunity of escaping it ; but it is mani- 
fest that if public opinion demanded the sacrifice, 
he was ready to make it for the honor of religion. 
These remarks have no other design than that of 
simply justifying the course of the subject of this 
Memoir under the peculiar and complicated trials 
which pressed upon him. We feel too deeply that 
he would exorcise this work of a spirit of censure 
with an unsparing hand, who was the last himself 
in life to indulge it against any. 

But he was not only firm in his purposes of per- 
sonal conduct, but in his endeavors to procure sub- 
stantial relief for his suffering fellow-citizens. Be- 
fore the country, at least in some places, had been 
sufficiently roused to a sense of their perishing ne- 
cessities, his letters were like the notes of a trumpet. 
They were transferred to the public papers, and 
made a great impression, and hastened relief. 

But we must in conclusion add one other proof 
of his firmness and resolution where duty called, and 
which, from unwillingness to give pain, is a strong 



LETTER TO A COMMUNICANT. 169 

proof. It occurred in his ordinary pastoral life, 
which was his chosen occupation and his joy, and 
it is our pleasure at the end of this Memoir to re- 
vert to him as thus engaged. The following letter 
was addressed to a communicant who had been 
overtaken in a fault : 

"A solemn sense of duty constrains me to address you upon a 
matter of most painful interest to me, as your spiritual friend and 

pastor. I refer to circumstances occurring about the. season, 

which involved your name as a professor of religion in great re- 
proach, and which also brought reproach upon the cause of reli- 
gion, and the Church through your standing as a professing Christ- 
ian. It is simply in heart-felt sorrow for yourself that I allude to 
the subject ; and that I hereby do, by all the heart-searching and 
soul-stirring considerations connected with the fear of God and 
the dying love of Christ ; by all that is fearful in doing despite to 
the spirit of grace ; by your own acountability at the judgment- 
seat of Christ, and by your own peace of mind and hope of accept- 
ance with a holy God, and of the salvation of your soul ; which 
the conduct I refer to jeopardizes : I do affectionately and earnest- 
ly entreat that you would exercise repentance before a soul- 
searching God. 

" The time at best is but short, and is often made shorter than we 
anticipate, by the numberless contingencies which forbid us to 
calculate upon a continuance of life even to the morrow. What 
we would do in preparation for eternity, we are admonished to 
do quickly and with our might ; for there is no work nor device 
nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest. And 
indeed have you not already of late received an impressive warn- 
ing to consider and amend your ways before God ? 



170 MEMOIR OF BEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 

" I sat by your bed-side repeatedly, when the chances of your 
recovery were exceedingly doubtful, and when the very critical 
and low state of your system forbade that fall and unrestrained 
conversation between us, which was and which still is, so im- 
portant. 

" My friend, God has been most merciful and long-suffering. Do 
suffer His goodness and forbearance toward you to have the blessed 
effect He designed — namely, to lead you to deep and thorough and 
abiding repentance, a repentance not to be repented of. 

u The painful facts to which I refer have, as I already implied, 
executed a highly injurious effect upon others. They have given 
occasion to the enemies of religion to sneer and to blaspheme, and 
to the friends of religion to mourn. 

"Until full and open amends have been rendered, or at least at- 
tempted for these injuries, it is manifest that the participation of 
the Holy Communion only perpetuates and increases the offense 
done to God and to His Church. 

" It is, therefore, under a sad sense of duty to my Saviour, to 
His Church, to myself; and to you, that I advise you, for the pre- 
sent, not to come to the Holy Table of the Lord. 

"I would be glad to have personal interviews with you upon 
the subject of my present communication. Whenever you desire 
you would find me most ready to act, to the best of my ability, 
the part of a friend and a pastor. 

"As such, I sign myself most sincerely yours." 

The circumstances of the preceding letter are 
such that it can be given without any possible im- 
propriety. There are other letters of like sort, 
which with the answers to them, would be most in- 
structive to the reader, but the author can not al- 



CONCLUSION. 171 

low a line of his private papers to escape winch, 
would impair that confidence of security* which all 
persons should safely entertain, when communi- 
cating with their spiritual counsellors. These pa- 
pers abound not only in evidence of his fidelity 
and success in the administration of discipline, but 
in his general capacity, usefulness, and happiness 
in his pastoral office. 

Happy the people who had such a pastor! May 
those who have enjoyed his ministrations be pre- 
pared to meet him in the last great Day ! Of him- 
self it remains but to add : 

"Servant of God, well done!" 



'"§i, Imng £Mb, gtt SpaKtifj." 



A DISCOURSE 



DEATH OF REY. JAMES CHISHOLM, 



PREACHED BY REQUEST OF THE YESTRY, DEO. 16, 1855, 
IX ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, PORTSMOUTH. 



REV. CHARLES MINNIGERODE, D.D., 

RECTOR OF CHRIST CHURCH, NORFOLK. 



15* 



Portsmouth, Va., Dec. 20th, 1855. 
Rev. and Dear Sir ; The undersigned, members of the Yestry 
of St. John's Church, return you, in their behalf, and that of tho 
congregation, tneir humble thanks for the funeral sermon delivered 
by you on the occasion of the death of their valued and beloved 
pastor. The discourse was one which truthfully portrayed the 
character of this eminent minister of Christ, and we are anxious 
that it should be read by his numerous friends and acquaintances, 
and that each of us should have in our possession a copy thereof. 
"We therefore respectfully, but earnestly, request the favor of you 
to furnish us a copy for publication, which we trust you will 
grant. 

Yery respectfully and truly your Mends, etc., 
James Murdaugh, °Wm. G-. Webb, 

John G-. Hatton, Ro. H. Cutherell, 

Ch. A. Grice, E. A. Hatton, 

F. TV. Lemosy. 
Eev. Chas. Minnigerode, Norfolk, Va. 



Norfolk, Va., January 1, 1856. 

Dear Brethren : I herewith send you the sermon, a copy of 
which you have desired for publication. 

In submitting my own judgment to your wishes, I am actuated 
by the belief, that every thing exhibiting the character of so 
eminent a servant of Christ, is calculated to do good. In the hope 
that this humble tribute to the memory of our beloved brother, 
your lamented pastor, may in God's mercy be blessed to many of 
its readers, I remain, yours affectionately, 

Chas. Minnigerode. 



DISCOURSE. 



Heb. 11 : 4. 
"He, being dead, yet speaketh." 

I staistd before you by your own request this 
day. Like the Apostle, " I came unto you without 
gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for." Need I 
askr "For what intent ye have sent for me?" 
Alas ! the circumstances point it out too painfully. 
When I look around this lovely sanctuary, and see 
its bright walls darkened by the drapery of mourn- 
ing, and read in the sable folds of these hangings, 
the language of bereavement and the cry of lament- 
ation ; when I glance over this congregation, and 
bend my ear to this secret throbbing of each heart, 
and meet these eyes before whose gaze a misty 
curtain seems to hang, scarce able to conceal the 
tears which are welling up in faithful hearts; when 
I turn round and in this chancel seek the meek 



178 DISCOURSE ON THE 

countenance of the man of God, who adorned it 
from the first day of its existence, and for many 
years continued here, a father to this Church, a 
light to every soul searching for the truth, a sym- 
pathizing friend to all who sighed for the peace of 
God, a blessing to this world, to all who knew him 
in his godly walk and conversation ; when I look 
round, and seek for him in vain; oh! then I know 
the purpose of this meeting, the object of these 
solemn services. 

An orphaned congregation is here, to remember 
their cherished pastor and prove their loss and their 
affection by this mark of esteem. Their harps of 
rejoicing are hung upon the willow with its weep- 
ing branches, and, like the Jews by the rivers of 
Babylon, they sit down and weep as they remember 
their desolate Zion. 

Loving hearts are here, to bid him a solemn 
farewell whose image fills the recesses of their in- 
most sanctuary, as lastingly and dearly as the por- 
traits of our sires can fill the walls of our homestead ; 
and who was wound round their affections more 
• firmly and tenderly than ever the ivy can spread 
its slender tendrils over the cold marble of a crum- 
bling tomb. 

Faithful memories axe here, which — as in ancient 



DEATH OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 179 

fable, the vocal statue of Memnon welcomed the 
first rays of the sun with a sound like the trembling 
notes of the iEolian harp — will ever respond with a 
plaintive echo, as his dear name mingles in their 
thoughts with the sound of the bells which call them 
to this scene of his ministry. 

Anxious souls are here, and wearied spirits, to 
mourn u as one mourneth for an only son;" and yet 
to thank God, that His mercy lent them this mes- 
senger of peace and truth so long, and left them 
such endearing and encouraging recollections of 
his abode among them. You are here, in all your 
sorrow, to bow before * the throne of grace, and 
honor the memory of your beloved friend by say- 
ing, in accordance with his scriptural teaching: 
"God's will be done!" 

Let me join you in this solemn memorial, beloved 
brethren, and in this sacred hour address to you 
the word of sympathy and affectionate exhortation. 
It seems affliction is to bring us near each other. 
Not many months ago I was in your midst on a 
similar errand. In that sick-chamber, by that 
death-bed of his sainted partner, a friendship was 
cemented between him and myself, which I trust 
will be perfected in heaven. And as we stood 
around her remains in this house of God, my breth- 



180 DISCOUESE ON THE 

ren, and afterwards united in services sacred to her 
memory, a mutual sympathy and interest sprang 
up between us all, which seems to justify our present 
meeting.* There is a tie between us, a sacred and 
a hallowed bond of union. Let us pray God to 
sanctify it to our hearts, that the union, which has 
commenced in sorrow on earth, may continue in 
joy in heaven. But now, when a deeper gloom has 
settled over you, and a darker shadow fallen upon 
your path ; when another grave has been opened, 
and brought upon you the accumulated affliction 
of losing at once a friend, a brother, a pastor and 
a saint, what shall, what can I say ? 

My very text calls up in its first part the plain- 
tive strain; He being dead! Yes, he is dead! the 
countenance, that beamed with a spirit, for which 
I find no pattern but in the portrait left us in the 
Bible of St. John, has passed from our vision. 
The eye so full of love and earnest piety, and from 
which his soul looked out upon the world as from 
the kingdom of heaven that was within him, is 



* Reference is made to the death of Mrs. Chisholm. She died 27th February, 
1S55. I was privileged to visit her in her last iUness, and see her peaceful 
end. After having united with my brethren in the funeral services at St. 
John's Church, on 1st March, I was requested by the family and the congre- 
gation to preach a sermon to her memory in the same church and before the 
congregation by whom she was so much beloved. This was done on 4th 
March 



DEATH OF KEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 181 

closed. The voice which, blended, in its defense 
of truth, the youthful ardor of the sons of Thunder, 
with the mellowed tones of the maturer years of 
the Beloved Disciple, when the burden of his every 
lesson was "love one another," is hushed. The 
hands, ever ready to fold in prayer to his God, and 
open in largesses to his suffering brethren, are 
clasped upon his decaying body. The feet, never 
weary to carry him to his post of duty, and to 
visit the needy and the desolate, rest from their 
labors quietly, until the resurrection morn. The 
heart, ever alive to the appeals of love and duty, 
embracing in its comprehensive grasp the whole of 
our fallen race, and yearning with peculiar attach- 
ment for the souls that here are mourning for him; 
that heart, which gushed forth in responsive move- 
ment to the angelic song of " Glory to God in the 
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward 
men :" it is still, and beats no more on earth with 
heavenly aspirations, and the pulse of Christian 
charity. God forbid, that I should come here, and 
chide your sorrow, and bid your tears to cease to 
flow ! No ; long will it be, ere the healing power 
of time can close the wound which God's mysterious 
providence has inflicted on you all. Long may it 
be, ere the thought of my sainted brother shall 
16 



182 DISCOURSE ON THE 

cease to chasten every hour of gladness and of 
mirth, with the hallowing remembrance of your 
loss! 

Nor am I come to say : " Sorrow not as those who 
have no hope." Thanks be unto God : there is 
not a soul before me, that does not see his grave 
irradiated with the hope of everlasting life ; that 
does not see the crown of glory on his modest brow. 
Ah ! was not Ms death itself glorious? He fell on 
the field of glory, with the martyr's halo as his 
diadem! He fell, beloved of all; and many a 
friend will cry after him, like the bereaved Ee- 
former : " Now is life less dear, and death less 
bitter." He fell, and all here feel that a prouder 
monument than stone or brass can rear, is found 
in the affection and esteem of those he left behind. 
He fell, the tender shepherd of his flock; who, like 
his Master, was ready to give his life for them, and 
not only for those of his own fold. He fell, in the 
path of duty and thus of safety. He fell, in the 
hope of a glorious resurrection : all know that he 
died to wake and rise again ; that the foul plague 
was but the harbinger for him of rest and bliss ; 
that that Grod in whom he trusted, that Saviour 
whom he loved, our God and Saviour, brethren, 
have taken him to reign on high. He fell, as he 



DEATH OF REV. JAMES CHISHOL1M. 183 

had lived, a witness to the truth. For in his death 
the hopes of Christianity have become realities even 
for such as never before had appreciated them. 
When that dear brother was laid in the grave, the 
sternest heart could not but know that this was not 
his end, but saw his spirit soaring upward, and 
heard his song of triumph : " death ! where is thy 
sting? grave! where is thy victory?" 

Nor am I come to tell you the story of his life, 
his birth and youth and studies and his labors; the 
work of grace in his heart, the ripening of his soul 
under the Spirit's influence; to count up the years 
of his ministry and speak of his successes, the spoils 
of his warfare, the seals to his calling, the travail 
of his soul. What hearth is there among you, 
where your beloved pastor's life is not known? 
what heart, which is not proud to recall his virtues 
and his graces, and to thank Grod for his eminent 
love to this saint ? You all have read the notices, 
which faithful memory has given of him in our pa- 
pers, the strains of poetry which his death called 
forth. Other and abler hands than mine are at 
work, to draw out his picture, and, having known 
him from the beginning, give to the world a faith- 
ful Memoir of this servant of Christ. 

I am here to mourn with you, and add my voice 



184 DISCOUBSE ON THE 

to yours in bidding him farewell. Oh ! as I stand 
here, where all reminds me of my sainted brother, 
and every thing proves the extent of our loss, I can 
not restrain the first impulse of my heart, to "weep 
with those who weep." I too am a mourner. I 
too have lost him, a friend and a brother, whose 
love I ever cherished as one of my great privi- 
leges ; and from whose humble walk of faith ana 
meekness, from whose godly zeal and perseverance, 
I hope to have learned many an enduring and sanc- 
tifying lesson. 

M Brother, thou art gone before, 

And thy saintly soul is flown 
Where tears are wiped from every eye, 

And sorrow is unknown. 
May I like thee depart in peace, 

To be a glorious guest — 
Where the wicked cease from troubling 

And the weary are at rest." 

But I am here, not only to speak of the dead, 
but to the living. As a minister of Christ, I am 
charged with a message to you from on high. As 
a fellow-laborer of my beloved brother, I feel dele- 
gated to speak in his name to those he loved so 
much on earth. I have received the warrant for 
my message at the mouth of the Lord, who of such 
as him, saith in the inspired volume : He, being 
dead, yet speaJceth / 



DEATH OF HEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 185 

All the dead speak to the living ; whether send- 
ing up the wailing tones of warning from the abodes 
of torment and wo ; or sending the cheering voice 
of encouragement and assurance from amidst the 
cloud of witnesses to the truth and faithfulness of 
Christ, the certainty of His salvation, the sufficien- 
cy of His grace and spiritual assistance. All speak 
to the living, and ours it is, to lay it to heart ; for 
such, the one or the other, is the end of all the liv- 
ing. But one who has stood to you in so close 
and endearing a relation; one who was with you 
in joy and in sorrow, and pointed you to the way 
of life which himself illustrated before you all ; 
who in season and out of season brought you in 
Christ's stead to be reconciled to God : must he 
not speak more forcibly than all others ? 

What a proof of our own immortality and spi- 
ritual nature it is, brethren, that the dead speak 
to us, and how certainly may we draw the know- 
ledge of our own continued existence from their 
continued agency ! 

" Can that man be dead, 
Whose spiritual influence is upon his kind ? 
He lives in glory ! and his speaking dust 
Has more of life than half its breathing moulds." 

And what comfort to the heart, mourning in 
16* 



186 DISCOURSE OK THE 

loneliness and bereavement, that tire separation is 
not only temporary, but is merely apparent ? Now, 
while the eye can not see him : now, while we miss 
his gentle step, and the cordial pressure of bis 
band: be is still near yon, is with you all, you 
scarce have lost bim : for behold, be being dead, 
yet speaketb ! 

He speaketh to you, and he sjpeaketh through you. 
Hear what be speaketb to you ; and may tbe love 
you bore him and the solemn import of this bour, 
give power to bis words, carry them to your 
bearts, and bless them to your growth in grace, 
and tbe knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ! 

He still speaks to you hy his teachings as the min- 
ister of reconciliation. He was tbe berald of Christ, 
and the spokesman of Grod's truth ; and no uncer- 
tain sound did the Gospel give, wben preached by 
bim. He laid u no other foundation tban that is 
laid, which is Jesus Christ :'• be bad " determined 
to know nothing among you save Him crucified :" 
be made the redemption througb Christ and Him 
alone, the redemption from guilt through His blood, 
and from the power of sin by His sanctifying spi- 
rit, the centre of all bis discourses. He stood as 
it were by tbe altar and pointed you to tbe Lamb 



DEATH OF BEY. JAMES CHISHOLM. 187 

of God, which bled upon it, " to take away the sins 
of the world;" and baptized his every sermon with 
the " faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation, that 
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." 
He taught none other doctrine than that of the 
Bible: that Christ is our divine surety with God, 
that for His sake pardon is granted to the sinner, 
that by faith we lay hold on His promises, and re- 
ceive the gift of full and perfect justification; that 
this faith "worketh by love, purifieth the heart, 
and overcometh the world." With the untaught 
and the unstable, with the lover of the world and 
the child of sense, he would reason here "on right- 
eousness, temperance, and judgment to come," and 
speak " the words of soberness and truth." To 
the sinner conscious of his guilt, and trembling at 
the just condemnation of God, he would draw nigh 
with words of comfort and bid them ' 'come to Jesus," 
lay their sins upon Him, and rise to the new life 
of faith and love. To the believer he would say : 
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ 
Jesus." "Let your conversation be as it becometh 
the Gospel of Christ." "Let your light so shine 
before men, that they, seeing your good works, may 
glorify your Father which is in heaven." " Fol- 
low after righteousness and peace, and count all 



188 DISCOURSE ON THE 

things but loss, that you may win Christ, and that 
you may know Him and the power of His resurrec- 
tion. Think not that ye have already attained, 
either are already perfect, but follow on and press 
toward the mark of the prize of the high calling 
of God in Christ Jesus." 

Such were his teachings in this pulpit, and such 
are his teachings to you now. He still speaketh 
to you, brethren, and speaketh the same things 
which you heard from him here. As you now look 
after him with longing eyes and yearning hearts, 
remember he has left you as his dearest legacy 
his teaching of the Gospel ; and adjures you, by 
all the love he bore you, and all the care and la- 
bor he bestowed on you, to hear the truth and 
"hold it in righteousness." Can any one, now, 
of those who Sunday after Sunday listened to his 
preaching, doubt the meaning of the voice with 
which he still speaketh ; or doubt the truth of his 
message, which, I might say^ he has sealed with 
his blood ? Oh ! may his language ever find an 
echo in your hearts, and move the sinner to come 
unto Christ and be saved. "Awake, thou that 
sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall 
give thee light !" 

He speaks to you by the sweet and endearing me- 



DEATH OF EEV. JAMES OHISHOLM. 189 

mortals of his pastoral career. He was sound as a 
preacher ; plain and pointed in his exposition and 
application, fall of fire and earnestness; but he 
shared his excellency in the pulpit with a large 
circle of his brethren in the ministry. Few ever 
equalled him as a pastor ! Oh ! how the recollec- 
tions of his pastoral labors must crowd upon you, 
and continue to fill your minds with his image, 
and let you hear again his gentle, sympathizing 
voice, and make you know that "he, being dead, 
yet speaketh I" That fireside, where he sat down 
by you and would close the day you had spent in 
the business of the world with his holy conversa- 
tion about heavenly things ; that family circle, to 
which he added new charms by bringing Jesus 
with him as a visitor under your roof; that chair, 
now vacant, where he would rest his weary limbs 
and bend in fond affection over your children 
and tell them of "the holy child, Jesus," or of 
their sacred vows as early soldiers of the cross, 
or explain to them the Catechism, and teach them 
to love religion by teaching them to love its 
herald ; that hour of sorrow, in which he would 
draw near you with his gentle ways, and lay the 
balm of sympathy upon the wounded soul, and 
raise the broken spirit with the comforts of the 



190 DISCOURSE ON THE 

Gospel, and bid you "to rejoice evermore and 
glory in tribulation also ;" that sick-bed, where he 
knelt down with yon and prayed for peace and 
resignation upon the troubled soul, and taught 
you to commit your all to God, who careth for 
you ; that chamber of affliction, where he dried 
the tears and quieted the laboring breast, and 
taught you from the heart to say, " Thy will be 
done;" oh! are they not all alive with his voice? 
And as these associations meet you everywhere, 
and bring his beloved image before your mind, 
and repeat to you in the whisper of affection the 
same message which formed the burden of his 
every sermon, "come to Jesus" — as he thus, 
though being dead, yet speaketh to you — oh ! can 
any have the heart to say him "JVo " f 

He speaks to you by Ms holy life and Christian 
example. brethren ! many may preach as well 
as he did, and some may equal him as faithful and 
affectionate pastors; but he was the holiest 

MAN, THE MOST FAULTLESS CHRISTIAN", I EVER 

knew ! He had learned of Christ to be " meek 
and lowly in heart." He was " a true Israelite, in 
whom there was no guile," unselfish without par- 
allel, devoted to the glory of God and the good 
of his fellow-man. He was zealous, with a holy 



DEATH OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 191 

flame of love, "a burning and a shining light" on 
the earth, revealing the power of God's gracious 
spirit upon the depraved heart of man, and testi- 
fying his faith and hope in Christ by ever striving 
to " purify himself even as He is pure." He 
walked with Grod, and showed in his thoughts, 
and words, and actions, that he lived with Jesus. 
He was faithful in the least, and in the greatest- 
faithful unto death ! 

And can such a life and such an example be 
lost ? Can death efface it from our minds and de- 
prive it of its powerful effect upon the living? 
No: blessed spirit! twice blest, in life and in 
death! He taught us all "the beauty of holi- 
ness," and proved the possibility of "living near 
the cross," and "overcoming the flesh, the world, 
and the devil." He made us know, what that 
Scripture means : " For me to live is Christ. The 
world is crucified to me, and I unto the world ; 
nevertheless I live, yet not ij hut Christ that liveth 
in me /" And he still speaketh the same things ; 
and from his glorious seat on high, from his state 
of profound sanctification, he calls to you in lan- 
guage, which, while he walked on earth, his mo- 
desty prevented him from using, and saith: "Be 
followers together of me, and mark them which 



192 DISCOURSE ON THE 

walk so as ye liave us for an ensample." Oh ! do 
not, do not, take from "him, brethren, this reward 
of his life ; do not defeat the power of such an 
example of hope, and faith, and love ! 

This leads me to the last point of my discourse. 
He being dead, yet speaketh. He not only speak- 
eth to you, by his evangelical teachings, by the 
fond associations of his pastoral care, by his holy 
walk and conversation, he also speaketh through 
you; he speaketh by you, who are his " written 
epistles to the world," the declaration of his holy 
ministry, the fruits of his labor, the seals of his 
calling. To you, dear brethren, he has bequeathed, 
in some measure, the honor of his name, the 
proof of his faithfulness. Your holy lives, your 
steadfast faith, your godly aspirations, your con- 
sistent walk — are the language in which he still 
would speak to the living, the work with which 
he still would glorify his Heavenly Father. And 
is the soul here present, that would rob him of 
""his crown of rejoicing in the day of Jesus 
Christ," and tarnish the glory of his ministry by 
turning from the path of wisdom and holiness, 
which he illustrated by precept and example; 
that would desecrate the sacred connection in 
which you stand to him by following the ways 



DEATH OF REV. JAMES CHISHOLM. 193 

winch he abhorred, and rejecting the Saviour, 
whom he loved and believed in, whom he preach- 
ed, and lived, and glorified ? God forbid I 

It may be your intention to rear a monument 
on the spot where his mortal remains are laid — 
side by side with the saint who was " a help meet 
to him" in this life. But consider — that a nobler, 
a prouder, a more lasting monument shall be 
reared to his name by the holy lives of those who 
were his charge on earth. As the Church of the 
living God is not built of the hard rocks dug 
from the quarry, but of believing hearts, saved 
and sanctified by grace, "the lively stones" of 
our Father's house of faith — so let his monument 
be built of living stones, of a whole congregation 
that follow their departed pastor in the course of 
truth and holiness, and faith and love. 

God grant it may be so ! ' May his spirit still 
animate your hearts, his voice still be heard 
among you, his memory still woo you to the Sav- 
iour; and may he, being dead, yet so speak to 
you, and in you, and hy you, that in the last day, 
when all shall stand before the judgment-seat, he 
may find you, all, his own in Christ, and lead you 
to the throne of God and say: " Behold I and 
the children Thou hast given me !" 
17 



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